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Cairo: Until recently Mohammad Moneim, a taxi driver, ate sumptuous meals at street charity tables held in Ramadan.
"Gone are the days when large quantities of beef and delicacies were served on these tables," he said. "Mad increases in prices of different food items have affected even the wealthy," he told Gulf News.
In recent months, the Egyptian market has been hit by a new wave of price hikes which have significantly reduced the number of street charity banquets, locally known as Mawaed Al Rahman.
"The cost of hosting these banquets has almost doubled over the past two years," says a host of one such banquet, who gave his name only as Metwali.
"I have been giving these banquets for God's contentment for more than 15 years to serve food to the poor and workers who cannot be home to have their iftar at sunset in Ramadan. This year I had to cut the number of my guests from 200 to 100 per day because of the soaring prices of food, especially meat," adds Metwali.
"Serving cooked meals to 200 people nowadays can cost as much as 4,000 Egyptian pounds (about Dh2,615) a day. I cannot afford this sum. During Ramadan, Muslims must abstain from eating, drinking and having sex from dawn to dusk.
Budget
Hosts of the charity meals also blame a rise in wages earned by cooks and attendants, hired to serve their guests, for affecting their budget.
"For example, a cook is paid around 2,200 Egyptian pounds (about Dh1,438) per month against 1,200 Egyptian pounds (about Dh784) for last Ramadan due to the high rise in the cost of living in Egypt," says Hajji Faraj, who co-hosts a charity banquet with others in the Old Cairo area of Al Sayeda Zeinab.
"Even prices of cutlery have gone up. Apparently discouraged by price hikes, some benefactors have stopped hosting street charity meals.
"In view of the soaring prices of cooked meals, I decided this year to offer charity food supplies such as rice, macaroni, oil and sugar to the needy," said a merchant in the suburban Cairo district of Marj, who asked not to be named as some benefactors prefer to stay unknown.
"I think this is more beneficial and dignifying to the poor than the charity meals," he added.
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