Chinese-made, high-priced Salah-inspired lanterns hit Egyptian market

CAIRO – 21 April 2018: Liverpool and national team star Mohamed Salah-inspired Ramadan lanterns are taking the domestic market by storm, while their prices continue to escalate out of control.

Salah-shaped lanterns were produced in and imported from China, as standard kids’ toys, which meant that they were no longer subject to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s 2015 decision to ban importing lanterns and other Egyptian folklore-inspired products, so they were let through by border control, said the Chamber of Commerce.

The high demand for the lanterns, coupled with the limited stock, has enabled traders to raise their prices from LE 98 to LE 155 over a short period of time, explained the Chamber.

In similar vein, an Egyptian citizen locally manufactured Salah-shaped wooden lanterns. “Given that Mohammed Salah became the talk of the world, I wanted to design and manufacture another locally-produced Salah-shaped lantern that can be even better than the Chinese one,” the local manufacturer told Egypt Today.

Liverpool Egyptian winger, Mohamed Salah, added another award to his collection as his goal against Man City at the UEFA Champions League quarter finals second leg was chosen to be the goal of the week.

The 25-year-old is also shortlisted at the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year award and he is expected to be one of the nominees for the Ballon d’Or award.

The holy month of Ramadan is just right around the corner and related festivities’ are getting off the ground, with Ramadan lanterns starting to flood the local markets.