11/24/2016 0 Comments Healthy Lifestyle, Questionable PriceBecause organic is rare in Egypt, It is naturally expensive for both the buyers and the suppliers. Whether importing specific organic certified goods or maintaining an organic farm with enough cultivation of veggies, fruits, or meat, the cost is always high. The purpose clearly justifies the price though, as bringing the correct sizes, coloration and maturity of goods into the country would eventually change Egyptians’ bad eating habits. However, some Egyptians simply can’t afford to eat healthy, at least on a daily basis. Hence organic suppliers need to consider the public’s best interest before deciding on any prices.
Imtenan, a health shop company, specializes in honey and organic food products. While the company offers a wide range of healthy products, some of them, such as the pure honey, cost more than 2000 EGP. Ahmed Shawki, a sales manager at Imtenan, claims that everyone can use the company’s products but not everyone can afford the prices. “I think that the prices are affordable, it isn’t really very cheap, but it is within the range of medium budget consumers,” said Shawki. Maher Farid, founder of Bio Shop, gets his products from a company called ISIS as well as a company called Sekem. He insists that only foreigners can handle his products as the prices can be a bit overwhelming. Egyptians can clearly buy some of his products but they choose not to because there are cheaper, as in less healthy, ways of living. “Egyptians should just focus on the healthy food first because the cost of buying and even producing pure organic goods is very high, especially with Egypt’s condition right now,” said Farid. Hydrofarms, which takes place in Cairo-Alex Desert road, is the first hydroponic farm in Egypt. Adel El Shetenawy, co-owner of Hydrofarms, believes in the concept of the rarer the product the higher the cost. He claims the cost will decrease the more organics enter the country. Because the production of organics costs him a significant amount of money, El Setenawy admits that he targets a certain audience, the high class. The owner says that while organics are currently unique in Egypt, that will eventually fade away. “It’s changing now because at the beginning we were very unique with a unique market, more expensive than the locally produced or the local farm,” said El Shetewany. “Our costs are a result of the production and the technical parts so we were of course the most expensive,” he added. With Egypt's economic crisis, all prices are increasing. Nowadays, most Egyptians seem to simply buy what they can afford. The lack of care for the environment and the human health has in a way become an Egyptian norm. Suppliers should not be held accountable for the high prices of organic products. They also struggle to find decent cost in order to import and produce organic in Egypt. The solution is only in the hands of the government. It has the ability to not only fix the economy but also raise awareness to organic and natural food.
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