Cairo - When Salma Selim went through the foods she bought a few days before Ramadan, she found she had paid more for fewer products than a year earlier.

"The half-kilo pack of dates which had cost nine Egyptian pounds (1.6 US dollars) last year is now 11.5 pounds. Nuts are also more expensive," the Egyptian mother-of-two told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Although it is a month of fasting, family gatherings in Ramadan tend to lead to a higher consumption of food and desserts.

Selim says her family consume double the usual amount of butter and triple the quantity of cooking oil, the average a middle-class family like hers would need for Ramadan.

With 200 pounds already spent, Selim and her family from Maadi outside Cairo will have to go without a few of the basic special foods Muslims enjoy during their holy month.

"I had to let go of some of the yameesh I buy every year," said the 45-year-old. "Not to mention the increase in basic food such as sugar, oil and butter," she said, adding that buying these and products such as rice, vegetables and meat would require more money.

Yameesh consists of several kinds of dried fruits such as figs, grapes and apricots. It is either served with dried dates at the beginning of the iftar, the fast-breaking meal at sunset, or as dessert.

During Ramadan, expected to start on September 1 in Egypt according to astronomical calculations, Muslims abstain from food, drink, smoking and sex between dawn and sunset.

Throughout the Muslim world, food sales traditionally flourish around this time of year.

This Ramadan, however, most Egyptians are buying less , owing to soaring food prices that have pushed the country's urban inflation rate to a highest level in more than 
15 years.

Official figures released in August show inflation rose to 23.1 per cent in the year to July, mirroring other countries in the Middle East.

In its latest inflation report, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) listed the most noticeable price increases as 71.1 per cent year-on-year for butter, 38.5 per cent for dairy products and 32.8 per cent for pasta.

Less than a week before Ramadan, food prices increased in the state-run shops which are supposed to sell products at lower prices than in supermarkets.

Shoppers said chicken and meat increased by five pounds per kilogram, while cheese was being sold at 20 pounds, six pounds higher than usual.

High food prices were also affecting the charity Muslims show over Ramadan by providing for the needy in the form of zakat, or alms, and sadaqah, or handouts.

Ayman Magdi prefers to give food rather than money to the poor. He always adds some yameesh. The middle-aged teacher is not happy about the quantity of food he will be giving this year.

"The poor need basic food but they also deserve a few Ramadan treats," Magdi, who lives in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis, told dpa.

Because of a higher income this year, he is expected to give slightly more to charity than last year. But he found that his budget will allow him to focus only on giving the basics.

The Muslim country's inflation seemed under control until the start of the year, but began to surge in March owing to the rising cost of food on the world market, particularly wheat, of which Egypt is a major importer.

Prices triggered violent protests in some parts of the country, prompting the government last May to raise public sector salaries by 30 per cent. Less than a week later, the government nudged up fuel prices to finance the wage increase.

Egypt's central bank raised its prime rates five times this year, reaching 11 per cent for deposits and 13 per cent for loans at the beginning of August.

This year, Ramadan coincides with the start of the school year in Egypt, adding pressure to households that need to pay fees and buy stationery and uniforms.

A quarter of Egypt's population of nearly 80 million live below the poverty line. (dpa)