A girl shows homemade traditional biscuits for Eid al-Fitr at a house in Monufia Governorate, Egypt, on May 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
In result of the debasement of Egyptian pound against U.S. dollar and the ongoing Ukrainian crisis, price hikes have forced many Egyptians to make Eid cakes at home instead of buying them at the baker's.
CAIRO, May 2 (Xinhua) -- More Egyptians have decided to make traditional cakes and sweets at home to celebrate this year's Eid al-Fitr, a festival of breaking the fast that marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as the prices of ready-made cakes and biscuits have become too high for them to afford.
At a house in Menofia Governorate, north of the capital Cairo, a group of women gathered in an atmosphere of joy and happiness to make traditional feast cakes and biscuits.
Um Ahmed, the oldest of the group, reminded her daughters and other women of the proportion in the mixture to ensure the food would come out in its best form.
An Egyptian family prepare traditional biscuits for Eid al-Fitr at their house in Monufia Governorate, Egypt, on May 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
"Making cakes and biscuits is a habit the Egyptians have followed for centuries. Over the past two years, most families bought ready-made cakes and biscuits, but this year we decided to make them at home because of the price hikes," Um Ahmed told Xinhua as she flipped some dough in a large bowl.
Ibtisam Ibrahim, a woman in her 30s who was busy putting trays of cakes into an oven, said she was happy about what she was doing at home despite long hours of hard work.
"We are a large family living in this house that consists of six apartments. Therefore we need large quantities of cakes and biscuits," said Ibrahim, noting homemade cakes save a lot of money.
In Egypt, prices of biscuits one kg range between 110 Egyptian pounds (5.95 U.S. dollars) and 240 Egyptian pounds (12.98 dollars), prices of cakes between 130 pounds and 275 pounds, while prices of petit fours, small bite-size decorative cakes, range between 145 pounds and 210 pounds.
A woman hands out homemade traditional biscuits for Eid al-Fitr to children at a house in Monufia Governorate, Egypt, on May 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
The price hikes in the North African country are a result of the drop in the currency value of Egyptian pound against the U.S. dollar and the ongoing Ukrainian crisis.
As one of the largest importers of wheat in the world, Egypt used to buy one ton of wheat at a price of 250 dollars before the Ukrainian crisis, but now the price has jumped to 400 dollars, according to Egyptian Finance Minister Mohamed Maait in recent statements.
Meanwhile, the annual inflation rate in Egypt jumped in March for the fourth consecutive month, recording 12.1 percent, compared to 10 percent in February, according to data from Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.
Mohammed Abdul-Hamid, owner of a bakery in Menofia, told Xinhua that the demand for traditional Eid candies and cakes has decreased.
"Customers who used to buy three or four kg of each type barely buy one kg now," said Abdul-Hamid. "Most customers come to bake the cakes at my shop."
He said bakeries used to operate round the clock on the last days of Ramadan every year to meet the great consumer demand, but this year their working hours decreased as a result of fewer customers.
An Egyptian family have homemade traditional biscuits for Eid al-Fitr at their house in Monufia Governorate, Egypt, on May 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
For his part, Ahmed al-Handawil of Egypt's Federation of Chambers of Commerce, said there is a 15-percent decrease in the volume of purchase of Eid cakes compared to last year's records.
Al-Handawil added that the candy factories cut production by 15-20 percent to avoid expected losses, as these items are only sold during holiday celebrations.
"Prices of main ingredients for the manufacture of Eid candies, such as oils and flour and sugar, increased by 15-20 percent, causing a decline in demand," he told Xinhua. ■
