US EditionEgyptian farmers behind world's perfumes face climate fight alone
Egyptian jasmine farmers face rising temperatures and pests that halve yields and increase child labor, while earning only a small share of profits from the global perfume industry.
- Jasmine farmers in Shubra Balula, Egypt, face shrinking harvests and income due to rising temperatures and prolonged dry spells by 2025.
- This decline follows a 2023 International Energy Agency report indicating that from 2000 to 2020, Egypt’s temperatures increased by 0.38°C every ten years, a rate higher than the global average, thereby worsening climate-related challenges.
- Farmers like Mohamed Bassiouny and his family have experienced a reduction in their jasmine harvest, dropping from 15 to 7 kilograms, which has resulted in pickers needing more than eight hours to fill a basket, while pest outbreaks add to the difficulties.
- Jasmine pickers in Egypt receive a mere 105 Egyptian pounds for each kilogram they harvest, a fraction of the global market price that can reach $6,000 per kilogram of jasmine absolute. In a rare protest last June, workers called for a wage increase to 150 pounds per kilogram.
- With little government oversight and laborers having no stake in the industry, villages risk losing viability as families, including children, endure unsafe conditions to sustain jasmine harvests.
41 Articles
41 Articles
Egypt's farmers behind world's perfume fight lonely battle with climate change
Egypt's farmers, who produce nearly half the world's jasmine concrete used in perfumes, are fighting a lonely battle against climate change. Their yield as well as earnings have fallen from rising temperatures.
Daily Journal
Egyptian farmers behind world's perfumes face climate fight alone
For years, Egyptian jasmine picker Wael al-Sayed has collected blossoms by night in the Nile Delta, supplying top global perfume houses. But in recent summers, his basket has felt lighter and the once-rich fragrance is fading.
Egyptian Farmers Behind World's Perfumes Face Climate Fight Alone
For years, Egyptian jasmine picker Wael al-Sayed has collected blossoms by night in the Nile Delta, supplying top global perfume houses. But in recent summers, his basket has felt lighter and the once-rich fragrance is fading.
For years, Wael al-Sayed has been crisscrossing the fields of the Nile Delta to harvest the jasmine flowers that will end up in the bottles of the large perfume houses. But in recent summers, the petals are becoming scarce and their fragrance is fainting."It's the heat," sighs Mr. al-Sayed, 45...
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