Muslim business owners struggle with inflation during Ramadan's season of giving

With Ramadan in full swing, Muslim business owners say rising food costs and soaring inflation is changing how celebrations look this year. 

Ramadan runs from March 22 to April 20 and marks a month-long celebration of prayer, fasting, gathering, and giving in the Muslim community. 

B.C. Muslim business owners say to keep up with the spirit of the season, they're expected to offer deals and discounts, as well as give donations to local mosques and charities. 

But this year, businesses are offering fewer Ramadan specials and have had to raise prices.

"I have no choice but to raise prices. We're trying to be cautious … because at the end of the day, you have to make it sort of affordable for the people," said Mossa Mohaidly, owner of Vancouver-based grocery store Jasmine Halal Meats & Mediterranean Foods. 

Mohaidly and other business owners are asking the federal government to provide more support for small businesses. They say a variety of costs, from high food prices to rising rent to increasing minimum wage, have made it difficult for businesses to manage costs this year. 

"The rise of logistics, transportation, raw materials, overseas shortage of labourers, when you calculate all this, it puts a lot of hardship on smaller businesses," said Mohaidly.

Challenging costs

Iqbal Jabar, the owner of Barney's Chicken and Pizza in Surrey, says he's maintained low costs for Ramadan despite near-nothing profit margins for himself. 

"This time of year … we worry about helping out one another, whether they're Muslims or non-Muslims," he said.

Jabar says halal products, like chicken and steak, were already expensive to start with, but prices have now gone up nearly 25 to 35 per cent. He says his halal suppliers claim their costs have also gone up, leading to the rise in prices. 

"[Small businesses] are the last ones [in the supply chain]. We don't have anyone else to charge but the consumer. But there's only so much we can charge a consumer."

Mohaidly says halal meat is meat that is humanely cared for and slaughtered in keeping with Islamic traditions.

Rushd Khan, the owner of Gulberg Restaurant in Surrey, says one of their most popular offerings during Ramadan is kachori or a fried flaky patty stuffed with meat. 

He says they reluctantly raised the patty's price from $5.99 to $6.99 due to a nearly 40 per cent price increase for ingredients like flour and oil.

Khan says while Gulberg still has Ramadan deals, none of those offerings will include meat dishes. 

"A big part of Ramadan is giving back … so we wouldn't feel right either if we didn't participate."

"We, as Muslims, are also looking for the same kind of promotions at other restaurants and other grocery stores."

Jabar says business goes down for halal restaurants during Ramadan since most Muslims will abstain from eating or drinking from dawn to sunset. The fast ends each day with Iftar, a meal commonly shared with others.

"Business goes down because Muslims … only eat at certain hours. So we have a rush for about two to three hours at most. Other than that, it's all slowed down," Jabar said. 

'Hasn't been easy'

Mohaidly says his business's wholesale division mainly imports dates for local stores. Dates play a crucial role during Ramadan and are eaten to mark the end of the daily fast. 

But Mohaidly says people are buying fewer dates than usual due to the pinch from inflation. 

"[For example], I had a customer wanting to buy about 20 cases [of dates], but ended up buying only 10 cases … [because] that's what he can afford in the end," Mohaidly said. 

Jabar says small businesses and customers are facing the brunt of fluctuating costs. He hopes the government will step in to regulate those prices on groceries. 

"One day I pick up [a box of tomatoes] for $35 … next day it'll be $45 … There is zero consistency [in pricing]," he said, adding he worries many businesses may soon go "belly up."

"It hasn't been easy at all, but we carry on [and] we're going to take it as long as we can … Then, at least, we gave it a shot."