{"id":16755,"date":"2026-08-18T14:58:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T12:58:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/?p=16755"},"modified":"2026-10-24T19:46:57","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T17:46:57","slug":"sugarcane-juice-egypt-inflation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/sugarcane-juice-egypt-inflation\/","title":{"rendered":"Sugarcane Juice: Egypt\u2019s Everyday Drink Buckles Under Rising Costs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The midday heat mixes with the sound of the sugarcane-pressing machine and the noise of cars and passers-by. Farghali stands behind piles of carefully stacked sugarcane stalks, picking them up one after another and pushing them into the heart of the machine, which has not stopped for decades.<\/span><\/p>\n

He fills the cup with its pale green colour and white froth, while greeting passers-by in the street with great fluency and skill, before he states to Zawia3: “We have not raised the price of the juice, but every stalk now carries a greater cost than in the past,” says Farghali, who inherited his trade from his family, dating back to the 1960s.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now the cup of sugarcane juice suffers from inflation and the continuous rise in the prices of the inputs of this old industry, amid rising prices of fuel, transport, labour, rent, electricity, water and public services.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, this type of natural drink enjoys a special status in society, as popular beliefs are attached to it about its role in summer hydration, improving digestion and strengthening immunity, according to an anthropological <\/span>study<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, the prices of cups of sugarcane juice in areas poorer than working-class neighbourhoods, such as Bulaq El-Dakrour, Ard El-Lewa and Nahia, range between EGP 14 and EGP 20 per cup, as the sales model has continued to rely on achieving a large volume of sales with limited profit margins. When the average price of a cup reached about EGP 3 in 2016, it rose to EGP 5 in 2020, then to EGP 7.5 in 2024, before settling at EGP 11 in 2025, according to calculations resulting from a field tour carried out by Zawia3.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In working-class neighbourhoods, such as Abdeen, Abbasiya and Shubra Masr, the average price of a cup rose from about EGP 4 in 2016 to EGP 6.5 in 2020, then exceeded EGP 10 in 2024, before reaching EGP 15 in 2025, and its average stands at about EGP 22.5 during 2026, with a price range of between EGP 19 and EGP 27.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
Cane-juice prices in lower-cost districts<\/figcaption>

Bulaq El Dakrour, Ard El Lewa and Nahia<\/p>

<\/div>
<\/div>
Year<\/th>Minimum<\/th>Average<\/th>Maximum<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
2016<\/td>3.0<\/bdi><\/td>3.0<\/bdi><\/td>4.0<\/bdi><\/td><\/tr>
2017<\/td>3.0<\/bdi><\/td>3.5<\/bdi><\/td>4.0<\/bdi><\/td><\/tr>
2018<\/td>3.0<\/bdi><\/td>4.0<\/bdi><\/td>5.0<\/bdi><\/td><\/tr>
2019<\/td>4.0<\/bdi><\/td>4.5<\/bdi><\/td>5.0<\/bdi><\/td><\/tr>
2020<\/td>4.0<\/bdi><\/td>5.0<\/bdi><\/td>6.0<\/bdi><\/td><\/tr>
2021<\/td>5.0<\/bdi><\/td>5.5<\/bdi><\/td>7.0<\/bdi><\/td><\/tr>
2022<\/td>5.0<\/bdi><\/td>6.0<\/bdi><\/td>7.0<\/bdi><\/td><\/tr>
2023<\/td>6.0<\/bdi><\/td>7.0<\/bdi><\/td>8.0<\/bdi><\/td><\/tr>
2024<\/td>6.0<\/bdi><\/td>7.5<\/bdi><\/td>9.0<\/bdi><\/td><\/tr>
2025<\/td>10.0<\/bdi><\/td>11.0<\/bdi><\/td>14.0<\/bdi><\/td><\/tr>
2026<\/td>14.0<\/bdi><\/td>17.0<\/bdi><\/td>20.0<\/bdi><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div>
Zawia3 field study of juice-shop prices. Approximate figures; geographical and service differences may cause prices to vary by about 30% above or below the figures shown.<\/span>