# Shopping



## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

I have just returned from the monthly stores supplies shop and what a shock. The price of everything has rocketed, I am aware everything goes up during Ramadan but how the average Egyptian on a fixed income or indeed the ones that live with no income manage is nothing short of miraculous


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## Jamjoom (Aug 18, 2012)

Price of what went up?
I didnt see any prices going up


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Jamjoom said:


> Price of what went up?
> I didnt see any prices going up[
> 
> 
> ...


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## Imy85 (Aug 25, 2012)

I've recently moved here for a few months and I've likewise been taken aback by the prices. Speaking with. A few locals, it seems that the poorer Egyptians are really struggling.


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## hurghadapat (Mar 26, 2010)

Jamjoom said:


> Price of what went up?
> I didnt see any prices going up


Are you sure you live in egypt....and if so how long have you lived there,because you must be the only person who hasn't noticed the price rises.


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## canuck2010 (Jan 13, 2010)

I'd say most things are 15-20% more expensive.


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## expatagogo (May 31, 2010)

Oh, it's a new sticker shock every time I go to the supermarket.

I go through money like water and I've always wondered how people who are less fortunate feed their families.

There's a knot in my stomach because I fear we will see starvation in Egypt.


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## Jamjoom (Aug 18, 2012)

It is about where you shop
For most imported items prices were jacked up.
But for essentials the prices are the same (oil, rice, bread..etc)
Most of the locally produced items went up 50% or so which is normal.
It depends on where you buy. because large supermarkets you might like to shop at (Metro/Carrefour..etc) jacked up prices for other issues (make up for losses/security...etc).


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Jamjoom said:


> It is about where you shop
> For most imported items prices were jacked up.
> But for essentials the prices are the same (oil, rice, bread..etc)
> Most of the locally produced items went up 50% or so which is normal.
> It depends on where you buy. because large supermarkets you might like to shop at (Metro/Carrefour..etc) jacked up prices for other issues (make up for losses/security...etc).




Brilliant advice, shop somewhere else ... I will tell that to the next Egyptian who tells me they are hungry because they cannot afford to eat..


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## hurghadapat (Mar 26, 2010)

Jamjoom said:


> It is about where you shop
> For most imported items prices were jacked up.
> But for essentials the prices are the same (oil, rice, bread..etc)
> Most of the locally produced items went up 50% or so which is normal.
> It depends on where you buy. because large supermarkets you might like to shop at (Metro/Carrefour..etc) jacked up prices for other issues (make up for losses/security...etc).


Bit of a contradiction there isn't there "essentials the prices are the same" but in same breath you state "locally produced items went up 50%"....make your mind up


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## Jamjoom (Aug 18, 2012)

I meant 5%
This is the normal inflation.


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## expatagogo (May 31, 2010)

Jamjoom said:


> It is about where you shop
> For most imported items prices were jacked up.
> But for essentials the prices are the same (oil, rice, bread..etc)
> Most of the locally produced items went up 50% or so which is normal.
> It depends on where you buy. because large supermarkets you might like to shop at (Metro/Carrefour..etc) jacked up prices for other issues (make up for losses/security...etc).


The prices for those "essentials" stay the same because the government produces/subsidizes them. D'oh. 

It is worth noting the government just increased the amount of corn in bread to 20% (from 10%) to keep prices down. Much more of it and Egyptians will have to get used to corn tortillas for sandwich fixin's.

I don't shop at large supermarkets because I prefer to leave my money with a guy trying to feed a family over a corporation bent on profits. That's the way I've shopped for decades. The only "imported item" I buy is cat litter (yes, I've succumbed to the temptation), and that's from Fathalla. I get in, get the bag of litter, then get out.

As usual, prices go up any time there's a holiday/feast (Muslim, Christian, doesn't matter) and don't come back down when it's over.


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## hurghadapat (Mar 26, 2010)

Jamjoom said:


> I meant 5%
> This is the normal inflation.


Yes but you are still contradicting yourself...be it 50% or 5%


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## GM1 (Sep 30, 2008)

The last years the inflation was around 10%!

Egypt's inflation dip may be short-lived as global food prices soar - Economy - Business - Ahram Online

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/eg.html


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

It doesn't really matter what figures tell us, nothing is a better indicator than our purse. I buy the same items each month so I always have a rough idea what it should cost,.. a friend has put on my facebook that she has paid 3.50 for a bottle of water in Kit Kat.. that is double the price..


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## Jamjoom (Aug 18, 2012)

This is my point. Yes all imported brand prices were jacked up on purpose to increase sales of local brands by increasing taxes and customs.

Some manufacturers had ties to the old regime that helped them in avoidin payin taxes to the Government (by under reporting profits or by using state subsideized raw material while they are not entitled to- especially factories owned by fiures of old regime). All of this has stopped so they are trying to jack up the price.


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## canuck2010 (Jan 13, 2010)

The IMF is putting lots of pressure on Egypt to reduce the unsustainable subsidies for fuel as well, which would naturally push up the price of everything else.


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## Jamjoom (Aug 18, 2012)

It is unlikely that the government will accept IMF guidelines.


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## expatagogo (May 31, 2010)

Jamjoom said:


> It is unlikely that the government will accept IMF guidelines.


Oh yes it will.

Watch and see.

The government can't afford not to.


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## hurghadapat (Mar 26, 2010)

Jamjoom said:


> It is unlikely that the government will accept IMF guidelines.


Well then it will be a case of sink or swim....and can egypt really afford to sink even further.


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## Jamjoom (Aug 18, 2012)

How much are you betting?
Egypt will never ever lift subsidized fuel (except may be on 95 purity) and definitely not subsidized essentials.

Read about the 1997 Asian financial crisis and How Mahathir Mohamed handled it against IMF recommendations only to lift the country to prosperity withing years.


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## expatagogo (May 31, 2010)

Jamjoom said:


> How much are you betting?
> Egypt will never ever lift subsidized fuel (except may be on 95 purity) and definitely not subsidized essentials.


Really?

Egypt govt to phase out energy subsidies for heavy industry: Minister - Economy - Business - Ahram Online

_Egypt's government will not be responsible for providing subsidised energy to 14 new cement factories, Hatem Saleh, minister of industry and external trade, told reporters on Sunday.

Existing factories in Egypt will see subsidies gradually cut until the prices they pay for energy match those paid by the fourteen new ventures, Saleh said on Sunday at his first press conference as minister , where he laid out the ministry's policy orientations for the upcoming period._

...

_Similar subsidy cuts are expected in other industries, including steel and fertiliser production._

When money is tight, it's either increase taxes or decrease entitlements and Egypt doesn't have much of a tax base.


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## Jamjoom (Aug 18, 2012)

Again, I am willing to bet for any amount you want.
I dont care what your source says. Tons of misinformation is published daily.
Going once..


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## expatagogo (May 31, 2010)

That IMF loan is only about half of what Egypt will need to begin a recovery. Continuing the decades of poor fiscal management isn't going to score any money, from anywhere.

They'll cut subsidies.

No choice.


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## Jamjoom (Aug 18, 2012)

No they wont


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Jamjoom said:


> Again, I am willing to bet for any amount you want.
> I dont care what your source says. Tons of misinformation is published daily.
> Going once..




Of course it is.. and what me, you, or someone else publishes in here maybe part of these tons.


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## DeadGuy (Jan 22, 2010)

Jamjoom said:


> How much are you betting?
> Egypt will never ever lift subsidized fuel (except may be on 95 purity) and definitely not subsidized essentials.
> 
> Read about the 1997 Asian financial crisis and How Mahathir Mohamed handled it against IMF recommendations only to lift the country to prosperity withing years.


For someone that's not a decision maker, you seem to be TOO sure about your statements.................Is it a crystal ball? Or just a.............? 

If it's something else, then please be generous enough to share your justifications for such a solid statement


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## expatagogo (May 31, 2010)

The latest on global food prices from the BBC:

BBC News - Food prices jump will hit poor, World Bank warns

_"We cannot allow these historic price hikes to turn into a lifetime of perils as families take their children out of school and eat less nutritious food to compensate for the high prices," World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said.

*He said countries in North and Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East were among those most exposed to such price increases because much of their food was imported and food bills make up a large proportion of average household spending.*

Already, the bank said, maize prices had increased by 113% over the past quarter in Mozambique, while sorghum had risen 220% in South Sudan._

Certainly worrisome.


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

I know prices are going up..my money doesn't buy what it bought last month.


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## Jamjoom (Aug 18, 2012)

imported vs local


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