Food & Climate
Mawlid al-Nabi sweets in Egypt which are one of the most important aspects of celebrating the anniversary of the birth of the Messenger of Islam, Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, which fell on Sunday, September 15, 2024, are facing low demand.
The manufacture of Mawlid al-Nabi sweets depends mainly on sugar, as pieces such as “bride” and “horse” figures are made by mixing sugar with water, with the addition of color, which can be dispensed with.
The Mawlid al-Nabi sweets industry has also developed to include many types of nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, and pistachios, in addition to sesame and peanuts.
The markets for these sweets have witnessed a retreat in recent years, due to the rise in sugar prices locally and globally, and the rise in the prices of other ingredients has worsened the situation.
Egypt produces about 2.8 million tons of sugar, while the size of local demand exceeds 3.2 million tons, so it imports about 500 thousand tons annually to fill this gap.
Climate change was one of the reasons for the price increases in major sugar producing countries, such as India, where the monsoons led to a 1.9% increase in the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) sugar price index in June.
The fires in sugarcane growing areas in Brazil threaten to further increase prices, despite the FAO index falling by 4.7% last month (August 2024).
In Egypt, sugar prices rose for many reasons, including the decline in the value of the local currency, which negatively affected all commodities and raised inflation rates to more than 35%.
The high inflation rates reduced the purchasing power of Egyptians, which led to a decrease in demand for the Mawlid al-Nabi sweets, which have been an integral part of Egyptian culture since the era of the Fatimid state, which established this tradition.
Sugar Crisis
A worker selling the Mawlid al-Nabi sweets in Egypt told “Food & Climate” platform that prices have increased this year by a limited percentage compared to last year, which witnessed a severe sugar crisis in Egypt, “We were buying at prices that reached double the previous year”.
He explained that the price of a “bride” or “horse” for the birthday starts at 20 pounds, and there are different sizes of them, “and I only have the pink color” noting that there are types of these sweets that do not use colors, and are the color of natural sugar.
Egypt faced a crisis in the availability of sugar, and the price of a kilogram jumped to 55 pounds last year (2023) and the first months of 2024 from 30 pounds, which the government attributed to the manipulation of traders at the time, and the acquisition of large quantities of it and storing it for profit.
Food Imports
The foreign exchange shortage crisis created a black market for the dollar, which witnessed severe manipulation of the prices of the local currency, food and non-food commodities, especially that Egypt imports more than 70% of its food needs.
However, the signing of a huge investment deal last March, in addition to Cairo signing a large financing agreement with the International Monetary Fund, contributed to providing foreign currency and relatively eased the pressure on some commodities, but the implementation of the Fund’s conditions, such as reducing fuel subsidies, pushed inflation rates back up last month, after declining in previous months.