Events in Syria strongly affect the price of spices in Egypt, as Egypt imports about 30 percent of its spices from Syria. Mohamed al-Sabae, a spice dealer, told Youm7 the prices of many spices have increased by 95 percent. The wholesale price of black pepper has increased from 21 EGP (U.S. $3.10) to 43 EGP (U.S. $7.20) per kilo and is sold to customers for 50 EGP (U.S. $8.40). The price of cardamom reached 165 EGP (U.S. $27.70) per kilo after it was only 90 EGP (U.S. $15.10). He said coriander has increased from 9 EGP (U.S. $1.50) to 16 EGP (U.S. $2.70), the price of cloves ranges from 80-90 EGP (U.S. $13.40-15.10) and ginger is sold at 36 EGP (U.S. $6). Al-Sabae said the price of rice increased 62 percent to a record of 4.5 EGP (U.S. $0.70) per kilo. The price of beans has doubled from this time last year: they are now 9 EGP per kilo. Yellow lentils settled at 6 EGP (U.S. $1) as wholesale price and 7.5 EGP (U.S. $1.50) for customers. Al-Sabae said maize prices soared to a new record of 2.5 EGP (U.S. $0.25) per kilo, which could lead to a decline in meat prices since the high cost of livestock could prompt to abandoning the cattle and consequently increase supply of meat in markets. Al-Sabea attributed the soaring prices to the lack of supply with the increasing demand. He said Egypt depends on 65 percent of imported spice goods. As a result of the notable decline in supplies, dealers raised the price of their goods. He predicted that by Ramadan, the Islamic holy month which will begin in August this year, there will be an unprecedented increase in prices of ‘Yamish Ramadan,' the dried fruit and nuts traditionally eaten with many dishes during Ramadan, especially since it is imported from Syria. A dealer in Maadi, Hussein Ali, said green beans increased to 9 EGP (U.S. $1.50) while beans reached 8 EGP (U.S. $1.30) and cowpeas at 10 EGP (U.S. $1.70) per kilo.
