With Eid Al-Adha just days away, the government races to control meat prices, Nesma Nowar reports In a bid to prevent price hikes during the Muslim feast of Eid Al-Adha, during which meat consumption peaks, the Egyptian government is taking steps to supply the local market with meat in large quantities. Recently, meat prices have witnessed an abnormal increase, making it unaffordable for many Egyptians, with prices ranging from LE70 to LE100 per kilo. Last month, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Amin Abaza announced that the government will import 92,000 live heads of calves, cattle and camels from Ethiopia, Djibouti, Sudan, Georgia, Hungary and Australia, in addition to 43,000 tonnes of frozen meat. These quantities will be available on the market with a price cut ranging from 30 to 40 per cent. Head of the Butchers Division at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce Mohamed Wahba believes the quantities of meat the government has agreed to import will balance the market and prevent price increases during the feast. However, a butcher in the Sayeda Zeinab area said he expected meat prices to increase during the feast as demand increases. "Demand on meat has increased before Eid Al-Adha leading to price increases, although demand this year is lower than other years since meat prices are already very high," he told Al-Ahram Weekly. The large deficit between domestic meat production and consumption is currently covered by imports. "We import 600,000 tonnes of meat annually to cover our needs, as we only produce 400,000 tonnes domestically," Wahba said. Though importing is viewed as a good solution for now, it only works on the short term. Wahba believes the government should work on improving domestic meat production in order to put a stop to price rises. "The government should encourage farmers to raise cattle by giving them interest-free loans, offering them veterinary support and providing them with cheap fodder," Wahba told the Weekly. In addition, not all Egyptians like imported frozen meat, especially after recent rumours about imported meat being infected. Last February, the government announced it was importing 2,400 tonnes of frozen meat, 10,000 calves from Ethiopia and a further 20,000 from Australia. In March, however, opposition newspapers launched a campaign against imported meat alleging that 21 shipments of Indian meat were contaminated with parasites, leading the Veterinary Quarantine Agency to reject them. However, the agency then broke the law by examining other samples in order to allow them entry to the Egyptian market, instead of ordering the entire shipment to be destroyed. In a bid to assuage fears regarding infection or contamination, head of the Importers Division at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce Ahmed Shiha has stated that there is no such danger, as meat entering the Egyptian market is subject to inspection by all concerned supervisory authorities. In addition, both the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Health need to approve all imports before they enter the market. Shiha added that claims of contamination cannot be true as the World Health Organisation (WHO) has made it obligatory for both importing and exporting countries to inspect meat. "Rumours about imported meat were started by local producers in competition with importers, and their aim was to keep supply short and prices high," Shiha said. Further, Shiha believes that importing meat is crucial to cover the deficit between local production and consumption, and to offer meat to consumers at reasonable prices after the unusual hike in local meat prices, which increased to levels exceeding international rates. "Imported meat will be available to consumers with a price range of LE30 to LE35 in comparison with LE70 for local meat," he said. Shiha also believes that Egypt should not only import meat for immediate consumption, but should also import and raise calves to increase local production. One of the solutions to increase local meat production while controlling its prices is the so-called "veal project", launched in 1982 and aimed at supporting breeders by giving them small loans to raise cattle at an interest rate of six per cent. The government then buys the cattle from producers, selling the meat in official outlets to the public at reduced prices. The project ended in 1990 due to cost problems. Experts believe that reviving the "veal project" could be a possible solution in the light of today's situation. Nonetheless, Chairman of the Egyptian Association for Sheep and Goats Essameddin Shehata believes the main problem facing the "veal project" and domestic production in general is that Egypt does not have enough grasslands suitable for developing animal resources. In addition, the cost of raising and fattening calves is high. Compounding the difficulties, fodder prices, which constitute around 80 per cent of the total cost of production, have recently increased internationally. Shehata added that the constant increase of meat prices is a chronic problem as there is a large gap between local consumption and production, and that there is no way to increase local production to the extent that can cover local demand. One of the possible solutions to cover Egypt's lack of grasslands is to raise cattle and calves in other countries. In an attempt to do so, the National Bank of Egypt invested $150 million in a farm project in Ethiopia. Shehata believes that such projects could be very useful especially with countries like Ethiopia and Sudan, which have unexploited natural resources that Egypt could use to increase its local production. However, Ethiopia and Sudan suffer from political instability that might hinder such projects.
