Chairperson of Butchers Division of Cairo Trade Chamber Mohamed Wahba blamed Egypt’s Ministry of Agriculture for the current deterioration witnessed in Egypt’s livestock, saying that they do not have the ability to plan. He stressed that they used the livestock to achieve projects aiming to serve the interests of businesspersons at the expense of the Egyptian people.
He denied the claims blaming the traders behind the high prices of meat in Egypt, adding that there is a systematic war to incite consumption with the blessing of the government. He stressed that the traders are not responsible for putting the prices, while the increasing prices come as a result of the increasing consumption.
He stressed that "everyone should know that the high prices of meat made the consumer refrain from buying meat because of the insane rise.” He stressed that the governmental policies harmed the interests of butchers who achieve a very simple margins of profit. He stressed that a large number of traders turned to close their shops or to change their activities.
He said that the governmental decision to liberate the exchange rate of the Egyptian currency has already affected the prices of meat, as it affected everything in Egypt, the prices of veterinary medicines and feed increased significantly, which was reflected in the prices of meat.
Regarding the role of the Chamber in overcoming crises, he said: "As we said earlier that our role for the government is only advisory, but our role for the traders provide them with the help and services as they need, as each union does to those who join them.”
He expressed his resentment over the decisions taken by the government, saying that the decisions performed a major role to harm the interests of the Egyptian farmers. He stressed the need for achieving self sufficiency of meat during the coming period to meet the demands of the Egyptian citizens.
He blamed the governmental policies for importing over 60 percent of the country’s needs of meat during the recent months, calling the government for adopting a plan to develop the livestock.