Feature: Egyptians to scale down animal sacrifices in Eid al-Adha amid gloomy economy

by Marwa Yahya

CAIRO, June 24 (Xinhua) -- As Egyptians prepare to celebrate Eid al-Adha, the skyrocketing livestock prices, caused by high inflation and devaluation of the local currency, have cast a shadow over the festivities.

Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, which will start on June 28, is one of the most anticipated celebrations in Islamic countries.

As a religious tradition, rich and moderate families will slaughter animals, usually sheep or cows, and share the meat equally with family, relatives and friends, and poor people.

Although well-to-do families in Egypt still prefer to perform the rite of animal sacrifice, they tend to resort to group buying as they cannot afford a whole animal alone like before. Waleed Azouz, a 66-year-old shop owner in Cairo, said he decided to split the cost of a cow with two others this year.

The elder, who has observed the tradition of animal sacrifice for 40 years, is going to distribute his share of beef to his 25 low-income female employees during the feast.

AL-Maashy, located on the outskirts of Giza Governorate, southwest of the capital Cairo, is one of the largest livestock markets in Egypt. Although bustling with animal traders, the market has seen a sharp plunge in buyers and overall sales compared to last year.

"This year sees the lowest sales," said Hassan Mohamed, an animal trader whose cow sales declined by two-thirds to 20 per day from last year.

He said more buyers are opting for smaller animals, such as goats or sheep, rather than big animals, such as cattle, as the price of a kilo of beef with bones has more than doubled to 145 pounds (4.7 U.S. dollars) from last year's 70 pounds.

The majority of deals in the market were concluded in a sort of pooling, with several buyers, mostly from one family, splitting the price of one animal, the trader added.

According to Haitham Abdel Basset, vice president of the meat branch of Cairo Commerce Chamber, sacrificial animal sales have sunk by 80 percent from a year earlier.

Basset attributed the soaring prices of animals, particularly the cow, whose average price ranges from 50,000 to 80,000 pounds, to the rising cost of the main ingredients of animal feed -- wheat and yellow corn, which are largely imported from Russia and Ukraine.

As a ton of bran costs 10,000 pounds now, a ten-fold jump from seven years ago, many farms hardly afford to operate, the expert said.

To overcome the unprecedented prices, some middle-class Egyptians even prefer to buy frozen beef from subsidized state-run outlets instead of fresh ones.

Saying breeding, slaughtering, and selling an animal employs at least 30 persons, Basset called on the government to find a solution to boost the bleak business in livestock markets.