Two days ago, data issued by the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics showed a significant change in how Egyptians consume food products, especially meat, during 2019. This is attributed to the need to adapt in the face of waves of inflation over the past few years.

Reduced consumption of red meat and rice

According to CAPMAS data, red meat, rice and wheat were the most prominent commodities, of which the per capita share diminished, compared with an increase of per capita share of poultry and birds.

The average per capita red meat decreased to 7.2kg in 2019, compared to 13kg in 2018, with a decrease of 44.6 per cent, while the per capita share of rice decreased to 26.7kg, compared to 36.8kg in the previous year, with a decrease of 27.4 per cent. The average share of wheat per capita was 153.3kg, compared to 155.2kg in 2018, with a decrease of 1.2 per cent.

On the other hand, the average per capita share of poultry and birds increased to 13.7kg in 2019, compared with 11.6kg in 2018, with an increase of 20.9 per cent. The average per capita share of vegetables in 2019 increased to 77.5kg, compared to 77.1kg the previous year. Average per capita fruit intake increased to 62.9kg, compared to 62.7kg in the previous year.

The research attributed the decrease in consumption of red meat to a decrease in its production by 36.7 per cent compared to an increase in the production of poultry and birds by 20.9 per cent, which raised its consumption.

The consultant of the agency, Dr. Heba Ellaithi, said that such data “reflects the adjustment pattern followed by the Egyptians in the face of a wave of inflation which surged prior to 2019, particularly in the period between 2016 and 2018 on top of a couple of economic measures, including currency floating, that led to a sharp rise of inflation.”

Ellaithi added, “The improvement shown by the results of the recent income, expenditure and consumption research, in relation to the decline in the national poverty rate, reflects abandoning needs that cannot be met by families, so many indicators showed that to reach this result, families decided to redirect their resources including adjusting the pattern of spending on food, which is evident, for example, in the abandonment of red meat in exchange for higher consumption of white meat.”

The results of the income, spending and consumption research, issued last December, showed a decline in the national poverty rate to 29.7 per cent in 2019/2020 compared to 32.5 per cent in 2017/2018, but this was done without counting the period of the coronavirus outbreak.

Ellaithi also indicated that some of the preliminary indicators available to her indicate that 90 per cent of households were able to consume sufficient white meat in 2017/2018, compared to red meat consumption, of which only 30 per cent of households were able to consume a sufficient amount.

The situation is worse under corona

Studies, prepared by CAPMAS during 2020, showed the impact of coronavirus on Egyptian families. They have made several measures since the beginning of the pandemic attempting to cover their needs, including relying on cheaper food and lower rates of weekly consumption of meat, birds, and fish, reducing the amount of food at meals, buying food on credit, and taking out loans.

The most important commodities whose consumption declined were:

• Meat: Consumption decreased by 25.7 per cent during May 2020, but later the decrease percentage regressed to 18.3 per cent during August and September 2020.
• Birds: Consumption decreased by 22.8 per cent during May 2020, but later the percentage regressed to 14.4 per cent during August and September .
• Fish: Consumption decreased by 17.5 per cent during May 2020, and the decrease percentage regressed to 11 per cent in August and September 2020.
• Fruits: consumption decreased by 14.5 per cent during May 2020, while this percentage decreased to five per cent during August and September 2020.

In May 2020, the National Planning Institute, affiliated to the government, expected that the repercussions of the COVID-19 crisis will lead to an increase in the number of poor people by 5.6 to 12.5 million individuals during the fiscal year 2020-2021, which means that the effects of corona may lead to an increase in the poverty rate by five to 12 per cent.