The milk industry and derived products
p. 118-119
Texte intégral
| 6.9 kg | LE 14-16 | 61% |
| Quantity of cheese consumed per person in in 2013 | Price of a litre of pasteurised cow’s milk in 2018 (LE 8-9 in 2014) | Market share of pasteurised milk held by Juhayna in 2016 |
| Sources: Al-Ahram, 2018; FAOSTAT, 2013; FAO, 2017 | ||
1Although the State has made the supply of grain and vegetable oil a priority, the consumption of milk products attracted the attention of the public authorities in the 2010s because of its role in the nutritional balance of children and in rural and agro-industrial development. Indeed, during the first decade of the century, the country recorded an increased prevalence of stunted growth among children. Since January 2015, milk and fresh cheeses have been included in the basket of subsidised foodstuffs.
Increase in the artisanal milk industry
2Milk and derived products, such as traditional cheeses (mish*, karish*, gibna roumi, gibna beida) or rice pudding (roz bi laban*), are part of the everyday Egyptian diet. Cheese consumption in Egypt is one of the highest in the region and on the continent: roughly 7 kg per annum per person, as opposed to 1 kg per annum per person in Africa in 2013. In response to national population growth, cheese production increased by around 170,000 tons in the 1990s.
3In 2011 Egypt was among the 15 leading exporters of cheese, supplying first and foremost markets in the Middle East. The milk industry involves primarily small peasant farmers.
4The increased production of cow’s milk is evidence of the agro-industrial sector’s interest in this market, even if Egypt remains a significant importer of powdered milk (24% of the demand in milk equivalent). The companies Juhayna (Egyptian) and Danone (French multinational) supply roughly two thirds of the Egyptian market in pasteurised milk and yoghurt.
5Fresh buffalo milk represented 48% of milk production in 2016: it is sourced from the often informal artisanal sector, which is organised in short supply lines linking thousands of producers to city-dwelling consumers.
6.26 Production of butter and cheeses in Egypt from 1961 to 2014
6.27 The evolution of milk production (buffalo and cow) and population in Egypt from 1961 to 2014
6.28 Major shares of the Egyptian market held by national and multinational milk companies in 2013
The artisanal milk industry in Cairo
6Supplying Cairo is a challenge for the public authorities in terms of food security and health safety, as was demonstrated by the controversy surrounding wheat contaminated by ergot in 2016-2017. With more than 500,000 new inhabitants in 2017, the growth in the capital has proven to be a boon for the agricultural and agri-food industries. The 23 million Cairenes represent a demand of 3.5 to 4 million litres of milk per day.
7According to a study conducted in 2013-2014 in the Cairo neighbourhoods of Shubra, Sayyeda Zeinab and Talbia by a team from the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) and Cairo University, inhabitants of low income districts have a higher level of consumption of fresh milk and artisanal cheeses: the demand for fresh buffalo milk is itself widespread. Providing fresh milk to the capital requires rapid supply lines and transactions based upon trust: almost 60% of milk suppliers questioned had a family connection with the manager of the sales outlet, while in the more comfortable areas, store managers also had supply contracts with milk merchants. Within the stores the choice of artisanal products not covered by the industrial sector is varied and richly represents a know-how passed down through the generations. The neighbourhoods covered by the study held from nine to 17 milk retailers per km2.
8The artisanal milk supply lines are emblematic of the continued links between town, suburban and rural environments. They generate thousands of jobs in Cairo and have promoted the development of low-cost transportation networks involving pickups, motorbikes and tuk-tuks.
6.29 And example of the movement of milk from producers to distributers: the Reka collection centre to the south of Cairo
Challenges to the artisanal sector
9With the growth of the agri-foods industry since the beginning of the century, the middle and wealthier classes have tended to abandon artisanal products in favour of processed and standardised goods that pose less health risks, such as products from Juhayna, Danone and Lactel. Indeed, some urban consumers have become aware of the risks involved in artisanal milk products because of their conservation, the levels of cleanliness during production, and the methods of supply.
10The devaluation of the Egyptian pound in 2016 led to a hike in livestock fodder prices and the price of a litre of milk almost doubled between 2014 and 2018. This context has weakened the artisanal milk business, which was also struck by a drop in customer spending power.
11Currently, the struggle against malnutrition and the maintenance of food equity while adapting to the varied demands of different social classes have become major issues. These will require policies that are adapted to the attributes and complementary functions of the industrial and artisanal sectors in order to promote a sensible coexistence of choices on offer.
Auteurs
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Véronique Alary
Véronique Alary, economist, CIRAD, UMR SELMET (Systèmes d’élevage méditerranéens et tropicaux), assigned to the International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (IRCADA), department RALS (Resilient crop-livestock farming systems)
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Christian Corniaux
Christian Corniaux, researcher in animal husbandry, CIRAD-SELMET, based at ISRA in Dakar (Senegal), attached to the du Pastoralism and Dry Lands department
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Pascal Bonnet
Pascal Bonnet, geographer, CIRAD, assistant director of the department “Environments and Societies”
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Slim Saidi
Slim Saïdi, ecologist and geomatician, Geomatics & Range Ecology Consulting, international consultant
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Mona Osman
Mona Osman, professor of animal husbandry and genetics, head of department of sheep and goats research (2019), Animal Production Research Institute, Agriculture Research Centre
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Mohammed Radwan
Mohammed Radwan, Assistant Professor, department of animal production, faculty of agriculture, University of Cairo
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Sherif Abdelghany
Sherif Abdelghany, associate professor of animal husbandry, department of animal production, faculty of agriculture, University of Cairo (since 2018)
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