Egyptian parliamentarian drafts law on reducing food waste

CAIRO – 11 April 2022: Parliamentarian Amira Saber, secretary of the Committee of Foreign Relations at the House of Representatives, showcased in an event Sunday evening some features of the draft law she prepared and submitted to reduce food waste.

During the event organized by the Coordination Committee of Parties' Youth Leaders and Politicians (CPYP), of which she is member, Saber pointed out that the annual amount of food waste per capital in Egypt is 50 kilograms.

The MP underscored that such quantity is huge, given the percentage of poverty in the country, and the fact that Egypt suffers from water poverty.

The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) had indicated that poverty rates in Egypt fell 2.8 percent during FY2019/2020, recording 29.7 percent, down from 32.5 percent in FY2017/2018, and that the water share per capita is 570 cubic meters.  

Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources had stated that the annual water deficit in the country stands at 54 billion cubic meters. The consumption is about 114 billion cubic meters, while Egypt's water resources are just 60 billion cubic meters, with 97 percent coming from the Nile River.

The minister explained that the gap is bridged by reusing water, and importing agricultural crops that could consume about 34 billion cubic meters annually.

The draft law focuses on devising incentives to institutions that reduce food waste, and launching a national program, integrating charity organizations and the civil society, to eliminate practices that incur such waste.

Chief Executive Officer of the Egyptian Food Bank Mohsen Sarhan has said the charitable organization distributed 500,000 cardboard boxes of dry goods to meet the needs of the impoverished families during the fasting month of Ramadan.

In statements to MENA Monday, Sarhan also said the bank decided to distribute 10 million hot meals during the holy month at an initial cost of LE 350 million adding that additional assistance will be also distributed in the same month to provide food to the needy.
 

Sarhan said the food bank started last month contracting with food companies before the recent price rise to overcome the repercussions of the global economic crisis.