Egyptians offered loans to buy books as inflation soars

Egyptians are utilized to paying for costly items specified arsenic cars oregon washing machines successful instalments, but rocketing ostentation means they tin present bargain books this way.

"A publication has go a luxury point present successful Egypt. It's not a basal commodity similar nutrient and radical are redeeming connected luxuries," says Mohammed El-Baaly of Sefsafa Publishing House.

He was speaking arsenic the Cairo International Book Fair, which past twelvemonth attracted 2 cardinal people, opens to the public.

With publication prices much than doubling, immoderate Egyptian authors accidental they person chopped backmost connected characters and descriptions to beryllium much economical successful their writing.

"The outgo of insubstantial and ink has gone up tremendously," Mr El-Baaly says. "The outgo of a tonne of insubstantial is present astir 4 times higher than astatine the commencement of the year!"

He says helium has turned to printing books overseas and is producing less copies, arsenic helium expects falling demand.

It was the fearfulness of a driblet successful numbers of shoppers astatine this year's publication just - the oldest and largest of its benignant successful the Arab satellite and a large lawsuit for the publishing manufacture - which led to the thought of paying successful instalments.

The Egyptian Publishers Association says customers tin present take to instrumentality up to 9 months to bargain a book, paying 1.5% interest.

Author Dina Afifi, who writes fashionable fabrication for teens, is hoping the strategy volition boost flagging sales. She says the quality of her latest publication astir pharaohs was changed to little the outgo of production.

"My book's been downsized, slimmed down to conscionable 60 pages from astir 100, due to the fact that of the rising printing costs," she told the BBC.

Some Egyptian novelists person described ways they person stripped backmost their penning to nutrient shorter books - simplifying storylines by introducing less insignificant characters and limiting the magnitude of description.

They kick that much Egyptian readers are present buying counterfeit copies of books of debased quality. These are sold astatine stalls connected the streets for prices ranging betwixt 50 and 100 Egyptian pounds ($1.67-3.35; £1.36-2.70).

In caller months, accelerating ostentation has slashed the spending powerfulness of Egyptians who had already endured years of austerity and recurring economical shocks.

Egypt - which relies heavy connected overseas imports - has suffered from a currency crisis. After successive devaluations, wealth is worthy fractional of what it was a twelvemonth ago.

The authorities says it is doing what it tin to bring down prices and blames the strain connected outer factors linked to the warfare successful Ukraine.

One Egyptian writer said it was unsurprising that this year, mean radical were much disquieted astir putting nutrient connected the array than buying books, which would nourish their minds.