Egyptians offered loans to buy books as inflation soars

By Yolande Knell & Wael Hussein

BBC News, Jerusalem & Cairo

Egyptians are used to paying for costly items such as cars or washing machines in instalments, but rocketing inflation means they can now buy books this way.

"A book has become a luxury item here in Egypt. It's not a basic commodity like food and people are saving on luxuries," says Mohammed El-Baaly of Sefsafa Publishing House.

He was speaking as the Cairo International Book Fair, which last year attracted two million people, opens to the public.

With book prices more than doubling, some Egyptian authors say they have cut back on characters and descriptions to be more economical in their writing.

"The cost of paper and ink has gone up tremendously," Mr El-Baaly says. "The cost of a tonne of paper is now nearly four times higher than at the start of the year!"