The 54th annual Cairo International Book Fair is taking place against the backdrop of a deep economic crisis.
Egypt’s currency, the pound, halved in value and prices skyrocket in the past year with inflation hitting 21.9 percent in December.
“The situation in Egypt, the rising dollar exchange rate and the import crisis, have led to a major increase in the publishing cost, including the papers, the inks, etc, since all the materials are imported. So, books are now quite expensive for everyone. In addition, they’re considered as an entertainment product.”
An important exporter of Arabic literature in the past, Egypt’s publishing sector is already showing symptoms of crisis.
Publishers were forced to “reduce commissions and print fewer books per edition” as a result of the pound’s decline due to the quadrupling cost of basic paper stock, according to Wael al-Mulla, CEO of publishing house Masr El Arabia.
“We lost the advantage of low (book) prices compared to other Arab countries. Books prices (in Egypt) were low compared to Arab countries and foreign markets, so there was a high demand for Egyptian books. Today, after we’ve been forced to increase our prices due to the inflation, we are nearing their price level,” he explained.
Encourage bookworms
The largest book expo in the Arab world reportedly attracted over 500,000 visitors on its first weekend, but many are concerned that this won’t result in sales because publishing businesses are already struggling to keep up with the escalating cost of printing.
Egypt’s publishers association has urged retailers to allow customers to pay for books in instalments using well-known buy-now-pay-later options in order to promote readers. Publishing houses also bet on various tactics.
“Discounts are provided by many of the exhibiting publishers. For instance, you can obtain significant savings if you purchase five or ten books. Of fact, few people have the means to purchase 10 books, therefore friends often opt to purchase their books from the same vendor in order to receive discounts” discovered by a volunteer and engineering student.
In a corner of the fair, sellers from Cairo’s renowned Azbakeya secondhand book market appear unfazed by the recession, even if the price of new books jumped by up to a double.
Some people find it necessary to purchase used books or unauthorised prints from Azbakeya because the majority of volumes sell for less than 20 pounds, oraround less than $1.
They’ll continue till February 6.
