THE DEMAND FOR FOOD IN EGYPT: PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS

In recent years, Egypt has had a very precarious food situation because of limited cultivated area. Effective demand for food is outrunning the available supply. A high population growth rate together with rapid social change and mass movement of labor contribute to the severe food shortages. As the income per capita increases, and the other factors of production continue to shift from rural to urban areas, prices for food are increasing causing obstacles for the economic growth. This study has focused on the problem of the demand for food, and the economic relationship between the demand for food on the one hand and population growth and per capita income on the other. Also discussed is the possibility of increasing the supply of food to meet the large increasing demand, which must be fulfilled through increasing food production, increasing food imports or some combination of the two