Inflation hits Ramadan as price of lanterns skyrockets in Egypt

Local manufacturers made less than half the number of lanterns as last year in anticipation of lower demand

A woman views lanterns at a shop in Cairo shortly before Ramadan last year. AFP

Ramadan lanterns, a quintessential symbol of the holy month, have shot up in price this season as Egypt is hit with record-high inflation.

Vendors in Cairo’s commercial districts have laid out much more modest spreads of lanterns than they did last year amid a marked drop in local manufacturing brought on by a rise in the price of raw materials and other costs.

The price of the materials needed to make Ramadan lanterns has gone up by 50 per cent, Barakat Safa, vice president of the Stationery and Toys Division at Cairo’s Chamber of Commerce, told a local news outlet on Wednesday.

He said he expected prices for consumers to rise by about 60 per cent this season.

Already the prices of lanterns available at a wholesale store in Al Mosky’s Jews’ Alley — a crowded shopping district in central Cairo popular among lower-income Egyptians — ranged between 30 and 150 Egyptian pounds ($1 — $5).

The owner, Mohamed Farag, said prices are higher than they were last year, when he sold them for between 20 and 120 Egyptian pounds ($0.06 — $4).

Cheaper lanterns are typically small, plastic and do not include too much craftsmanship. They often come with cheap sound chips that play Ramadan songs at the press of a button. Such lanterns could be bought for under 10 Egyptian pounds from certain street vendors last year, but today, they cost 30 pounds at Mr Farag’s store.

“I am a wholesaler, so most of my customers are other stores or vendors who buy them in bulk, which means that the price for regular consumers will most likely be around 10 or 20 pounds higher than mine,” he explains.

The larger, more expensive models with more elaborate designs and complex mechanisms that enable them to move around a small space or light up a room with dancing light displays are being sold in Mr Farag's shop for up to 150 pounds ($5).

“Most of the lanterns we have on display this year are made in Egypt. Our suppliers told us there is a shortage in the imported models,” Mr Farag told The National, “The quality is the same in the end, but imported models offer variety to consumers. Some of the designs are pretty creative.”

The government last year placed tight controls on imports amid a shortage of foreign currency in Egyptian markets that has made importers unable to clear their goods from ports.

Though the government did away with some of its import regulations at the start of the new year, it has been unable to clear the billions of dollars' worth of goods that remain in ports due to the continued shortage of foreign currency.

The most expensive lanterns available, which Mr Farag did not stock this year, are ones made by specialist artisans out of tin, copper or brass and decorated with Islamic patterns and coloured glass. They usually take a great deal of meticulous craftsmanship to make.

“I usually keep one or two in my store, but they are so expensive this year and I didn’t see any of my customers buying it,” Mr Farag explains. These types of lanterns cost about 3,000 Egyptian pounds ($100).

Mr Safa of Cairo’s Chamber of Commerce explained that the prices for these kinds of lanterns have also increased sharply because of a rise in the price of the metals used to make them.

While at the same time last year, vendors had begun to buy up modest wares from Mr Farag to sell in their own stores, he said that thus far, he has only sold individual lanterns to passers-by who want to treat their children to a cheap toy.

“It’s still early, mind you — we’re still more than a month away from Ramadan, so I am hoping that business will pick up in the coming weeks,” Mr Farag continued.

“My peak season each year is around three weeks before Ramadan, so we’ll see.”

Most shoppers in Al Mosky on Thursday did not seem interested in purchasing lanterns.

“I am not buying lanterns this year. We can barely afford food, let alone lanterns. I have been walking around here for an hour looking for shoes that I can afford for my son,” one shopper told The National.

Local manufacturers, fearing that demand would be low this season, only made two million lanterns, compared to five million last year, Mr Safa said.