CAIRO - Omnia Farouq, a 19-year-old university student, recently switched from European to Egyptian chocolate. In a practical bid to push forward Egypt's economy – which has suffered throughout the year as a result of the political upheaval – a ‘Buy Egyptian' campaign was launched a few days ago by media tycoon Amr Adeeb, who has called on all Egyptians to buy locally made foodstuffs and commodities. The campaign has also been promoted on the social networking website Facebook, which has been urging people of every class to take part, to save Egypt's economy from collapsing. Despite the slump in this country's economy, most Egyptians flock to shops, hypermarkets and shopping centres to buy affordable, high-quality goods, rather than local brands. "What matters to me is the quality of the product," said Mona Hashim, a 28-year-old teacher, while buying a blouse made in Europe at a shopping centre in Maadi. Heba Radi, another customer, agreed, telling The Egyptian Gazette that she only buys made-in-Egypt products, if they are affordable and of a similar quality to foreign products. “Many Egyptians, tempted by foreign products because they think the quality is much better, often overlook the 'Made in Egypt' labels. “What I most care about is buying healthy food for my children. Egyptian processed meat is unhygienic, so I buy the imported variety,” said Manal Hassan, a housewife. Some economic experts think that this initiative cannot make a difference unless there is an improvement in the quality of or the safety specifications for Egyptian products. "This campaign is not enough on its own," Shehab Ezz Eddin, a professor of economics at Cairo University, told this newspaper. "It should have been preceded by a campaign for improving the quality of locally made products, to encourage more people to purchase them. "The local industry is struggling, because of the European products that tempt the rich and the Chinese ones that tempt the lower and even middle classes in this country. "We cannot push people to buy locally manufactured products without improving their quality and – most importantly – selling them at affordable prices," Ezz Eddin added. Ahmad Adam, an economics expert, agrees. He stresses that local industry needs to challenge a diverse, competitive market and an economic slowdown. "The revolution has stopped new foreign investment and undermined the pivotal tourism sector. Annual growth has slowed to less than 2 per cent from 5 per cent, and Egypt's foreign reserves have fallen to about $20 billion," he explains. "Our suffering economy won't recover unless we enhance local industry, which, in turn, will boost exports and encourage consumers to buy Egyptian foodstuffs and commodities." Egypt's annual exports barely reach LE25 billion, while imports have leapt to LE50 billion. As Egypt struggles to rein in its budget deficit, manufacturers, workers and consumers must all co-operate to boost local industry and strengthen the economy. "I'm willing to buy everything I need – clothes, food and drinks – if it's made in Egypt, providing these products are safe and of a good quality," says Islam Osama, a 24-year-old pharmacist.
