There is no percentage of inflation that holds. Nothing explains a country’s economic crisis better than this advice from the authorities: «Don’t throw away the chicken feet, cook them: it’s a portion rich in protein».
To tell the far from strange indication of the Egyptian authorities to its citizens is the Bbc which also brings back the anger of the population, exhausted by months, years, of the economy on its knees. “Oh God, don’t let us get to the point where we have to eat chicken feet”is the comment of a man who begs in the Giza market, next to the chicken stall, writes the English newspaper.
In March, inflation hit 30%, 31.9% in February is the peak of the last five years, which on the tables of some Egyptian families, even of the middle class, means no basic products such as oil, cheese and meat, which have become almost a luxury: in a few months they have doubled or tripled the price.
So, the National Institute for Nutrition – on behalf of the Egyptian Ministry of Health – says to eat chicken feet, an excellent alternative to counteract the lack of protein foods. And the parts of the bird that were once offered to dogs and cats end up in the windows of butchers, next to the chicken legs, obviously much more expensive.
The population responds to the ministry’s invitation: instead of giving advice on what to bring to the table, think about what needs to be changed in the management of the country.
Egypt, which has a hundred million inhabitants, imports a lot of food from abroad and does not exploit domestic agricultural production enough (with the grain crisis and the war in Ukraine, the difficulties have increased). In one year, the Egyptian pound lost half its value against the dollarand, in addition, the tourism sector has also recorded negative records, again due to the post-pandemic and the war.
President Adbdul Fattah al-Sisi blames Covid, the Russian invasion, and even the aftermath of the 2011 Egyptian uprising. The Egyptians disagree. Meanwhile, many foreign investors are leaving the country.