Family budgets increases by 40 percent for Ramadan

Prices weight heavy on the family budget and frustrates breadwinners, especially during religious occasions when gamily demand and need increase, both for clothing, meat and various kind of nuts.

Arwa al-Hakimi, a 30-year-old public sector worker is using her savings to cover needs for the holy month of Ramadan.
 
Anisa al-Maori, a housewife, is selling some of her gold jewellery to ensure her family of five has the necessary food and holiday clothes. And Mohamed Saleh, a janitor, must borrow money or ask philanthropists for help to buy various Ramadan necessities.
 
During Ramadan, many Yemeni families make financial sacrifices to purchase goods for the holiday and put food on the table.
 
“Because of their economic situation Yemenis cannot withstand an additional financial burden,” said Hammoud al-Bokhaiti, head of the Centre for Market Studies and Consumer Research.
 
“It weighs on the family budget and frustrates breadwinners, especially during religious occasions when family demands and needs increase, both for clothing and meat as well as various kinds of nuts,” al-Bokhaiti said.
 
A recent poll of 400 families conducted by the Yemeni Centre for Studies and Economic Media illustrated the increasing burdens Yemeni families face because of increased spending during Ramadan. One-half of Yemeni families increase spending on goods and services during Ramadan, sometimes by 40% above their normal levels.
 
Almost 29% cover their expenses by borrowing while 15% are forced to sell off personal property. Another 45% set aside a special budget for Ramadan expenses while 46% do not.
 
“Many families declined to buy a lot of Ramadan products because of the decline in their incomes as a result of deterioration of the exchange rate of the Yemeni riyal,” said Mustafa Nasr, President of the Centre for Studies and Economic Media.
 
Nasr said families feel obligated to buy the basic Ramadan products, even when they cannot afford the expense.
 
Dr Mohamed al-Maitami, a Sana’a University professor of economics and former director of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said the demand for clothing and food reaches its highest levels during such occasions, which leads to price increases and higher inflation.
 
Al-Bokhaiti criticized the behavior of Yemeni households during Ramadan.
 
“Unfortunately, purchases of Ramadan goods – including food, clothes, and nuts – have exceeded what is necessary, turning this religious occasion into one for increased eating, indigestion, one-upmanship and extravagance among neighbors when purchasing clothing and holiday extras, rather than being a great occasion for taking notice of the poor and showing sympathy for them,” he said.
 
The financial strain does not end once the holy month is over.
 
Al-Bokhaiti said that following Ramadan “comes the return to school and the various needs that go with it, as well as the major religious occasion of Eid al-Adha”.

Dr. Taha al-Fusail, Advisor to the Minister of Trade and Industry and Professor of Economics at the University of Sana’a, said the problem in Yemen is that most families have a low income and focus on specific seasons to buy clothes, especially during Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.  “This creates an imbalance in the household budget that is addressed subsequently by borrowing, which burdens the family,” he said.

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