TRAFFIC Online Report SeriesNo. 10NO OASIS:
the Egyptian ivory
trade in 2005

Esmond Martin and
Tom Milliken

TRAFFIC East/Southern
AfricaJune 2005

TRAFFICR

This report was publishedwith the kind support ofPublished by TRAFFIC International,
Cambridge, UK.
© 2005 TRAFFIC International
All rights reserved.
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copyrighted and may be reproduced withpermission. Any reproduction in full or inpart of this publication must credit TRAFFIC
International as the copyright owner.
The views of the authors expressed in thispublication do not necessarily reflect those of
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The designations of geographical entities inthis publication, and the presentation of thematerial, do not imply the expression of any
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The TRAFFIC symbol copyright andRegistered Trademark ownership is held byWWF. TRAFFIC is a joint programme of
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Suggested citation: Martin, E. and Milliken,
T., 2005. No Oasis: the Egyptian Ivory Tradein 2005. TRAFFIC International,
Cambridge, UK.

ISBN 1 8585 0 208 X
Front cover photograph: Ivory craftsman atwork in Egypt, 2005.

Photograph credit: Esmond Martin.

NO OASIS:
the Egyptian ivory trade in 2005
Esmond Martin and Tom Milliken

Credit: Esmond Martin.

June 2005

Cairo’s Khan al-Khalili market attracts many
foreign tourists every day who come to buy
souvenirs, including ivory.

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

CONTENTS
Acknowledgementsii

Executive summaryiii

Introduction

1

Methodology

2

Results

3

Legislation and policy

3

Legal framework3

Implementation and enforcement

3

Ivory stockpiles

5

Participation in ETIS

6

Sources and prices of raw ivory

7

Ivory carving and manufacturing

9

Retail outlets in Egypt

11

Cairo

11

Luxor

14

Aswan

14

Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh/Na’ama Bay

15

Purchasers of ivory products in Egypt

15

Prices for worked ivory

15

Recently made ivory items

15

Antiques

17

Foreign-made items carved since the 1970s

17

Discussion

17

Conclusions

20

Recommendations

21

References23i

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank WWF International’s Global Species Programme, especially Dr Susan
Lieberman and Cliona O’Brien, for their generous financial support and inspired backing of this project. And
special thanks are also owed to Dr P. J. Stephenson of the WWF African Elephant Programme, who also provided
funding to support the publication of this report. The WWF team remain faithful and unstinting supporters towhom we are ever grateful.
The authors are also indebted to Professor Dr Samy El-Fallaly, the inspired Chairman of the Egyptian Standing
Committee for CITES in Egypt’s Ministry of Agriculture & Land Reclamation, as well as his very capable staff
Dr Ragy Toma, Dr George Assad and Ms Inas Moustafa. Gracious thanks go out to all of these very kind andhelpful individuals who provided the second author with an understanding of Egypt’s legislation, policy and law
enforcement capabilities, as well as facilitated a visit to the government’s ivory store in Cairo.
Thanks are also due to Julie Gray of TRAFFIC International, who devoted considerable time and inspiration
towards preparing the layout of this manuscript. Maija Sirola and Sabri Zain of TRAFFIC International andLucy Vigne also helped with the production of this report and to all of these hard-working individuals we offer
our gratitude. And finally special thanks go to Steven Broad and Cliona O’Brien for reviewing this report andhelping to improve the final manuscript with their useful comments and suggestions.

ii

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A comprehensive survey of the ivory trade in Egypt, focused upon the cities of Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, Hurghada
and Sharm el-Sheikh, was undertaken in March and April 2005. The principal findings of that effort can besummarized as follows:
Raw elephant ivory tusks are still being imported illegally into Egypt, albeit in very limited quantities. Such
shipments reportedly originate in the Democratic Republic of Congo and southern Sudan and are moved
overland from Sudan into Egypt. Other reports suggested that a few tusks also may come from India, butsuch information could not be substantiated. Compared with the late 1990s, however, the quantity imported
has declined markedly.

•

The price paid by craftsmen and owners of the ivory workshops in Cairo for a 2-5 kg raw ivory tusk averaged
about USD190/kg, while larger tusks weighing 10-19 kg cost around USD345/kg. When adjusted for
inflation in 1998 USD terms, these prices are 200-250% of those documented for comparable tusks noted insurveys in 1998 and 1999. This price increase may be credibly attributed to three factors: increased law
enforcement, a reduction in supply in Egypt and the increasing cost of elephant ivory at its source inneighbouring African countries.

•

Somewhere between 25 and 50 ivory craftsmen, some located inand around Khan al-Khalili, the main market in Cairo, areestimated still to be carving ivory today, but their numbers havefallen to somewhere between one-quarter and one-half of the 100
carvers identified in 1998 and most only carve ivory on a parttime basis. This continues the significant decline in the numberof ivory carvers in Egypt, documented with comparable data forthe years 1989 and 1998 (Martin and Stiles, 2000).

•

A total of 130 retail outlets were found selling ivory products inthe five cities and towns surveyed. Cairo, Luxor and Aswan
collectively had 142 shops in 1998 but, by 2005, the number ofretail outlets selling ivory had apparently fallen to 119 in thesethree cities, indicating an overall reduction of about 15-20%.

•

The number of ivory items seen for sale at the retail level
A small ivory tusk crafted in a
numbered 10 709 in 2005, less than half the number observed inworkshop in the Khan al-Khalili
1998 (21 460). While the scale of the trade has apparently fallen
area of Cairo.
in all cities surveyed, the greatest decline in the number of ivory
products on the retail market was noted in Aswan and Luxor, where only 373 and 1308, respectively, were
found in 2005 compared to 3388 and 6445 ivory products observed in 1998.

•

Cairo, with 83% of the ivory items seen for sale, continues to be the major outlet for ivory products in Egypt.
Luxor accounted for 12% of the ivory products observed and Aswan had only three per cent. In sharp
contrast, the huge tourist resorts of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh displayed only negligible amounts ofivory.

iii

Credit: Esmond Martin.

•NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005•

The most common items found for sale were figurines of Egyptian gods and humans - 34%; animal figurines,
such as scarabs, camels and elephants - 30%; pendants - 9%; necklaces - 6%; and bangles - 4%. It is worth
noting that there were almost no ivory name seals or chopsticks, key ivory products for the Asian market,
found during the survey.

•

The main buyers of ivory products were reportedly tourists from Italy and Spain, followed by those from
France and unspecified Latin American countries. This largely mirrored the findings of the 1998 survey.
Local Egyptians apparently consume virtually no ivory themselves.

•

Retail prices for worked ivory items sold in Egypt in 2005, adjusted for inflation in US dollars (USD) terms,
appear to be anywhere from twice to over four times those of late 1998. In 2005, a typical 10-cm humanfigurine cost about USD185, a medium-sized bead necklace was USD51, a 2.5-cm bangle was USD35, a 5cm pendant was USD14 and a small ring was USD7.

•

There were very few antique ivory pieces observed for sale (less than one per cent of the total number of ivory
products surveyed). Equally, only a very small number of ivory items that had been manufactured in othercountries were found for sale on the Egyptian market. Thus, virtually all of Egypt’s ivory trade comprises
products that were locally produced in recent times.

•

The Egyptian Government has made significant efforts, particularly from 1999 through to 2003, to seize
elephant tusks and illegal worked ivory items in several parts of the country. Altogether, over 3.5 t of ivory
has been seized during this period. Improved law enforcement has been partly responsible for the decline of
the Egyptian ivory industry and various shopkeepers indicated awareness concerning the illegality of the
trade or had experienced government pressure to curtail sales directly.

•

Although ivory trade in the country is under pressure and has declined considerably since 1999, the scale ofthe current trade at retail level is still significant and of conservation concern. In this regard, Egypt has notconformed with the CITES requirements for controls on the internal trade in ivory contained in Resolution
Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP12).

•

To reduce the availability of elephant ivory products in key markets throughout the country and to ensurecompliance with all CITES requirements, it is recommended that Egypt:••••

review and improve policy, legislation and regulatory measures so that they fulfil the requirements of
CITES Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. 12);address implementation and enforcement deficiencies;
raise awareness and publicity on wildlife trade controls; andbe reviewed as part of the CITES Standing Committee process for assessing domestic ivory markets
worldwide, with a view to including Egypt as a priority country for attention within the context of the
Action plan for the control of trade in African elephant ivory.

iv

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

Figure 1
Map of part of Egypt, showing the places visited during the 2005 survey of Egypt’s ivory trade.

v

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

INTRODUCTION
Egypt’s ivory trade is ancient. Aristotle recorded that Egyptian Pharaohs had hunted or captured elephants in the
Nile Valley from early times and Egyptian artifacts of ivory date back 8000 years (Kingdon, 1979). Three
thousand five hundred years ago, Pharaonic texts from the reign of Queen Hatshepsut describe a major
exploratory naval expedition to the Land of Punt (present-day Eritrea and Somalia in the Horn of Africa)
returning with important raw materials, including “pure ivory” (Siliotti, 2004). By that time, the African
Elephant Loxodonta africana was probably extinct in the lower Nile Valley of present-day Egypt, but throughout
the intervening millennia, the great cities of the Nile certainly remained a destination for ivory from sub-SaharanAfrica. Paintings on the walls of the chapel in the tomb of Rekhmire, which is found amongst the Tombs of the
Nobles near the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, feature a long procession of bearers from foreign countries,
including men carrying elephant ivory tusks, for the Pharaoh Amenophis II in 1400 B.C. (Siliotti, 2004). Indeed,
the ivory trade still plies a long route from Africa’s interior to modern-day Egypt, but today open processions
have given way to clandestine trafficking.
A comprehensive assessment of Africa’s ivory trade published in 2000, in the report The Ivory Markets of Africa,
identified Egypt as one of the largest domestic ivory markets in Africa (Martin and Stiles, 2000). This conclusion
was based upon a survey of the availability of ivory in the markets of Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and Alexandria in
November and December 1998. The results of this survey were published in Oryx (Martin, 2000a), BBC Wildlife(Martin, 1999) and Pachyderm (Martin and Stiles, 2001). Indeed, in the late 1990s, only Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire)and Harare (Zimbabwe) offered more ivory products (Martin and Stiles, 2000).
Since 2002, two comprehensive analyses of global ivory seizure records held in the Elephant Trade Information
System (ETIS), one of the two monitoring systems for elephants under the Convention on International Trade inEndangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), have also identified Egypt as a country of concern in theillegal trade in ivory (Milliken et al., 2002; Milliken et al., 2004). These studies have demonstrated that illicit
trade in ivory is most directly correlated to countries having large-scale domestic markets that are poorlythregulated. At the 12 meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP12), held in Santiago (Chile) in
November 2002, Decision 12.39 was approved, giving rise to an intersessional oversight process to assess
domestic ivory markets in key countries. Under the direction of the CITES Standing Committee, this Decisionobliges targeted countries to demonstrate compliance with CITES requirements for internal ivory markets
outlined in Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP12) or face possible sanctions. In a subsequent development at
CoP13, held in Bangkok (Thailand) in October 2004, Decision 13.26 was approved, establishing an action plan
to assess the domestic trade in ivory in all African Elephant range States. Because Egypt had previously been
identified as having a major domestic ivory market, but was not an elephant range State, there was some concernthat this important country might be overlooked if the CITES focus remained strictly on elephant range States.
Further, in the past, Egypt’s ivory trade had been clearly linked with neighbouring Sudan (Martin, 1999). In
February 2005, a trade study in that country identified an escalating trade in the capital city of Khartoum andadjacent Omdurman (Martin, 2005). This development also raised the spectre that a similar increase in trade may
be occurring in Egypt. As a result, TRAFFIC felt it was time to do another survey of Egypt’s ivory trade.
The purpose of this study was to assess contemporary ivory trade dynamics in Egypt and to establish whether or
not the ivory trade there continued to be a significant conservation concern. The report documents and analyses
the ivory market of Egypt as it existed in early 2005. It is hoped that this study will make a useful contribution
towards resolving serious issues that allow the ivory market in Egypt to operate beyond the requirements of
CITES. There is little doubt that, with the complete closure or even reduction in scale of the Egyptian ivory
market, elephant conservation will benefit throughout Africa.

1

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

METHODOLOGY
In the previous study of Egypt’s ivory market in 1998, large numbers of ivory products were found for sale atthe retail level in Cairo, Luxor and Aswan (Martin, 2000a). But in Alexandria, the second-largest city in the
country, almost no ivory was observed on the retail market, probably because European tourists, the main ivory
buyers, rarely visit in large numbers (Wahby, 2005). For the current survey, instead of Alexandria, it was decided
to add two new Red Sea resorts, Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh, the first on the African mainland and the otheron the Sinai Peninsula, both of which are extremely popular destinations for European tourists. In fact, thenumber of visitors to these locations is expanding more rapidly than anywhere else in Egypt.

Credit: Tom Milliken.

Field work in Egypt took place
between 20 March to 14 April
2005. Most of the souvenir
shops surveyed in 1998 werevisited again in 2005 during
comprehensive market surveys
in Cairo, Luxor and Aswan. The
number of ivory items on
display were counted in eachshop and classified by producttype to the extent possible. Dataon prices were also obtained formany items. In this regard, itshould be noted that many
Elephant tusks with inlay work including religious motifs,
Egyptian sales personnel are
seized in Egypt, and photographed in 2005.
very savy operators on theinternational tourist scene and would often quote prices for ivory products in US dollars (USD) or euros once
they ascertained the nationality of prospective buyers. Consequently, if prices were only quoted in US dollars,
the equivalent value in Egyptian pounds (EGP) is not presented in this report. The owners, managers or
salespersons present were generally questioned about the origin of their ivory products, the nationality of theircustomers, and the state of their ivory business from past, present and future perspectives.
If possible, workshops were visited to ascertain how many ivory carvers were still in operation, or whether they
were now using other raw materials, such as camel bone and wood. The type of products being crafted at theselocations was documented. The carvers and workshop owners were also questioned on the origin of their ivory
stocks, how they had been transported to Cairo, as well as asked for information on prices.
Government offices in Cairo, including the Ministry of Agriculture & Land Reclamation, were visited to obtainan overview of the country’s policy and legislation for endangered wildlife in Egypt and the implementation of
CITES. Officials were interviewed on their efforts to enforce the country’s wildlife laws and on law enforcement
efforts against the illegal ivory trade. Statistics were collected on ivory seizures and an inspection was made(April 2005) of the seized ivory in the government store by the second author of this report.
Literature dealing with Egypt’s wildlife trade, especially ivory, was examined to compare past findings withthose of the current survey. Over 200 interviews made in 1998 were compared with about the same number in2005 to ascertain contemporary ivory trade dynamics and trends.

2

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

RESULTS
Legislation and policy
Legal framework
Egypt has been a Party to CITES for nearly three decades. Egypt’s accession to the Convention took place onst
4 January 1978 and its membership entered into force on 4 April the same year, making Egypt the 41 Party to
CITES. Article VIII, Paragraph 1 of the Convention obliges Parties to “take appropriate measures to enforce theprovisions of the…Convention and to prohibit trade in specimens in violation thereof.” Regardless of thetimeliness of Egypt’s accession to CITES, over the next 20 years, the authorities failed to meet this obligation
and buttress membership with the enactment of effective national legislation. During this period, Egypt wasrecognised as a country in which significant wildlife trade occurred and was frequently implicated in wildlife
trade infractions in violation of CITES. As was the case in many other longstanding Parties to the Convention,
Egypt’s lack of national legislation and regulatory measures for implementing CITES was a festering problem
that allowed illegal trade in wildlife, including elephant ivory, to continue unabated.
To address regulatory weaknesses on a global level, in 1992, at the eighth meeting of the Conference of theParties to CITES (CoP8), the Parties adopted Resolution Conf. 8.4 (National Laws for Implementation of theConvention). This Resolution was developed in response to a comprehensive review of alleged infractions andother problems concerning enforcement of the Convention, which concluded that the widespread lack of national
legislation was a serious impediment to effective law enforcement for CITES worldwide. The implementationof Resolution Conf. 8.4 gave rise to what has subsequently become known as the “CITES national legislation
initiative”, which continues to this day. At CoP9, in 1994, a report was tabled that assessed and ranked thelegislation of 81 Parties, including Egypt, on a scale of 1 to 3. Egypt was ranked with 28 other countries in
category 3, reserved for the most problematic countries, meaning those in which “Legislation is believed
generally not to meet the requirements for the implementation of CITES”. Thus began a five-year process under
CITES to encourage the development of new wildlife trade legislation in Egypt in order to meet the country’s
most fundamental obligations under the Convention.
At CoP10, in 1997, the Parties adopted Decision 10.18, which specifically singled out Egypt, Guyana, Indonesia,
Malaysia-Sabah, Nicaragua, Senegal and Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), as countries
involved in significant trade in wildlife but generally lacking effective national legislation with which to
implement CITES. These countries were given deadlines by which they needed to rectify the situation or facesuspension of all trade in wildlife under the Convention. As the process for this Decision unfolded under the
direction of the CITES Standing Committee, various deadlines for action were set and, later, various extensions
stgiven without imposing sanctions. Some two years later, however, things came to a head at the 41 meeting of
the Standing Committee (8-12 February 1999). At that meeting, a decision was taken to recommend that all tradein CITES specimens with Egypt be suspended from 30 September 1999, unless the CITES Secretariat could
verify that Egypt had enacted legislation that generally met the requirements of the Convention.
Following this decision, staff from the CITES Secretariat visited Egypt and provided guidance on the drafting of
new legislation. Ministerial Decree No. 1150 of 1999 was subsequently issued by the Ministry of Agriculture &Land Reclamation, on 2 September 1999, to provide a legal framework for CITES implementation in Egypt.
This Decree, which became law following its subsequent publication in Arabic in the official government journal
Wake Al Mysrya, establishes the conditions and criteria that govern wildlife trade. Of particular note is Article
1, paragraph j), which establishes a comprehensive and overarching definition of “violations”:

3

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

It is a violation to possess, to offer or display for sale, to import, export, re-export or introduce from the sea any
specimen of a species listed in Appendices I, II and III of CITES without complying with the requirements of thisDecree. All specimens that are the subject of a violation shall be confiscated and disposed of in accordance withrecommendations of the Resolutions of the Conference of the Parties to CITES.
This definition clearly encompasses any and all trade in ivory as all African and Asian Elephant populations werelisted in either Appendix I or II of the Convention at the time the Decree was adopted. Further, there are no
specific provisions for exemptions in Ministerial Decree No. 1150, for example, to allow the disposal of preConvention or pre-Decree stocks of raw ivory or worked ivory products. To qualify for any exemption in thisregard, Egyptian authorities require proof of ownership or legal importation (Prof. Dr. Samy El-Fellaly, pers.
comm., April 2005).
To buttress this move and enhance the law enforcement capabilities of Customs at Egypt’s ports of entry and exit,
on 26 September 1999, the Ministry of Finance’s Customs Department issued Procedures Circular No. 17 of
1999. This document further outlined procedures and conditions for Customs officers handling the import, reexport and export of CITES specimens. Other measures designated scientific and management committees for
the Convention in Egypt and established a wildlife office at the airport in Cairo to assist with law enforcement
at that import location.
These developments transpired just prior to the Standing Committee deadline given for Egypt to ‘put its housendin order’. In recognition of these improvements, the 42 meeting of the Standing Committee (28 September – 1
October 1999) commended Egypt for enacting new legislation and stepped back from the imposition of sanctionsin the form of a suspension of trade in all CITES specimens to the country.

Implementation and enforcement
The adoption of Ministerial Decree No. 1150 and other supporting measures led to a rapid and immediate
improvement in the policing of Egypt’s wildlife trade under CITES. Ivory was no exception and, within one weekof the Decree’s promulgation, Customs officers at the Cairo International Airport seized two raw ivory tusks
illegally leaving the country for Malta, the first reported ivory seizure in the country’s history under CITES. Two
weeks later, an even larger consignment of 29 elephant tusks on their way to Libya was confiscated at the airport
and this was followed by the seizure of six pieces of raw ivory coming into Egypt from Nigeria a month later. Not
just elephant ivory, but various other wildlife products being traded in contravention of CITES were also seized.
With this promising start, Egypt successfully turned a new page in its relationship with the Convention and begana concerted effort to ensure that its wildlife trade, including that in elephant ivory, proceeded in accordance withthe rigorous enforcement of CITES provisions. Although since late 2002, enforcement efforts with respect tosales of ivory products on the retail market appear to have waned, from September 1999 to April 2000, there werenine separate seizures of 162 raw and worked ivory pieces, weighing 327 kg, according to the Egyptian CITESManagement Authority (Martin, 2000b). Similar seizures continued to take place between May 2000 and
December 2002; Egyptian authorities, including Customs, police and wildlife officers affiliated with the Ministryof Agriculture & Land Reclamation, seized 2564 pieces of raw and semi-worked ivory and 278 worked ivory
products in various locations throughout the country. Collectively, these seizures represented over 3.5 t of raw
ivory and included some rather sensational, large-scale confiscations of raw ivory destined for Egypt’s carving
industry. In August 2000, 1441 raw tusks, weighing 1525 kg, were seized in Kom Ombo District of the upper
Nile near the border with Sudan. Other significant raw ivory seizures occurred in Aswan, the largest Egyptian4

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

city near the Sudanese border and a major tourist destination. These included 79 tusks, weighing 139 kg, in 2000
and 230 pieces of raw ivory, weighing 850 kg, in 2001 (Table 1). All of these stocks reportedly came to Egypt from
Sudan. The link between Egypt’s trade in ivory and neighbouring Sudan becomes abundantly clear through an
examination of ivory seizure records. Table 1 shows that, from 2000 to 2003, 97% of the raw ivory seized in
Egypt was believed to have entered the country from Sudan. Similarly, Sudan accounted for some 81% of theworked ivory products seized in Egypt.

Table 1
Ivory seizures in Egypt (2000-2002) where Sudan is identified as the country of origin,export or re-export
Date

Locationof seizure

Raw/semi-worked
ivory (pieces)

Raw/semi-worked
ivory (kg)Worked ivory(pieces)Workedivory (kg)

1/2000

Cairo Airport2

12

3/2000

Aswan

79

139

8/2000Kom Ombo

1441

1525

9/2000

Cairo Airport

2

6

4/2001

Cairo Airport

2

5

6/2001

Aswan

4

43

9/2001

Aswan

2

2

9/2001

Aswan

2

2

11/2001

Aswan

2/2002

Cairo Airport

3

3

5/2002

Cairo

42

63

5/2002

Cairo

5/2002

Cairo

21

13

5/2002

Cairo

125

108

10/2002

Cairo

12/2002

Cairo Airport

116

12/2002

Cairo Airport

3

1

12/2002

Cairo Airport

72

12/2002

Cairo Airport

12/2002

Cairo Airport

4

3

230

850

66

53

665

550

4

3

TOTAL

2489

3138

226

251

TOTAL: All ivory seizures

2564

3244

278

310

PERCENTAGE SUDAN TRADE

97.1%

96.7%

81.3%

80.9%

Source: Egypt Ministry of Agriculture & Land Reclamation

Ivory stockpiles
All types of ivory seized in Egypt are ultimately taken into custody by the Ministry of Agriculture & Land
Reclamation and end up being stored on the premises of the Agricultural Museum in the Dokki District of Cairo.

5

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

The locked storage rooms hold not only ivory, but a wide range of other seized wildlife products, including
stuffed birds and animals, sea turtle shells, mammal and reptile skins and hides, corals, shells and other driedmarine specimens. An attempt has been made to consolidate all ivory in one part of the store, but space has
become an issue because of the large volume of ivory and other products. To the extent possible, the ivory fromeach individual seizure is kept together and identified with a series of labels in Arabic.
While it was not possible to quantify the volume of ivory in the store at the time it was visited (April 2005), it
was apparent that all of the major ivory seizures noted above were held in the store. It is estimated that some
3.5 t of ivory are currently represented by the stocks held at the Agricultural Museum. These stocks arereportedly subject to standard audit procedures by the government from time to time.

Participation in ETISIn recent years, Egypt has been one of the few countries in the Middle East that has regularly provided ivory
seizure data to ETIS. Further, the quality of information in terms of completeness reported by Egypt is very
good. As of 6 September 2004, a total of 37 seizures have been made in Egypt and reported to ETIS through the
CITES Secretariat. These seizures, all of which occurred between September 1999 and May 2004, included 2909
raw, semi-worked or worked ivory pieces, weighing a total of 3697 kg. Although the ETIS data cover the period
1989 to the present, there are no records documenting whether Egypt made any elephant product seizures
between 1989 and late 1999.
During the period from 1990 to 2005, 14 countries reported seizing ivory products that originated in, or were
exported or re-exported from, Egypt on 55 different occasions. These seizures totalled 165 kg and wereprincipally worked ivory products confiscated from tourists. European countries, especially the UK, Spain,
Germany and France, made 60% of these seizures, while another 30% occurred in the USA.
In both of the comprehensive analyses of the ETIS data presented to the Conferences of the Parties to CITES,
Egypt has figured as a country of secondary importance when a cluster analysis technique is employed tohighlight those countries most involved in the illicit trade in ivory (Milliken et al., 2002; 2004). In the ETIS
report for CoP12, in November 2002, cluster analysis was used to reduce the 150 countries identified in the ETIS
data as being implicated in the illicit trade in ivory to the 31 most important players. These countries were thensorted into 13 different clusters or groups, which resulted in Egypt being included in an eight-country grouping
together with Angola, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, India, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines and Sudan (Milliken
et al., 2002). This cluster was described as a ‘catch-all’ group with the various countries exhibiting a wide rangeof roles and variables in the ivory trade. As such, it included some elephant range States, transit countries andmajor ivory markets, of which Egypt was one, and overall the group as a whole exhibited poor law enforcement
and a high perception of corruption. Egypt’s major source of ivory, Sudan, fell within the same cluster.
In the ETIS analysis for CoP13, in October 2004, data reduction techniques reduced the number of countries
under consideration from 154 to 35. Once again, Egypt was found in a ‘catch-all’ cluster together with Belgium,
Botswana, Canada, India, Portugal and Zambia (Milliken et al., 2004). Like in the earlier analysis, this cluster
featured both elephant range States, transit countries and end-use markets, but in contrast it exhibited a muchbetter law enforcement effort ratio and a lower value concerning the perception of corruption. Accordingly, thecluster for Egypt in this analysis marked an improvement over the earlier ETIS report, but it was nonethelessnoted that Egypt’s internal ivory market was reasoned to be the largest of all countries in the grouping.

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NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

These analyses have served to keep a low-grade focus on Egypt’s ivory trade within the CITES arena. Egypt,
however, is not explicitly part of the current CITES oversight process focused upon domestic ivory markets in
African Elephant range States. At CoP13, Decision 12.39 established an intersessional oversight process under
the direction of the Standing Committee to assess compliance with CITES requirements for internal trade in ivory
as outlined in Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP12), which recommends that:Those Parties in whose jurisdiction there is an ivory carving industry that is not yet structured, organizedor controlled:a) register or license all importers, manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers dealing in raw, semiworked or worked ivory products;b) establish a nationwide procedure, particularly in retail outlets, informing tourists and other nonnationals that they should not purchase ivory in cases where it is illegal for them to import it into
their own home countries; andc) introduce recording and inspection procedures to enable the Management Authority and otherappropriate government agencies to monitor the flow of ivory within the State, particularly by meansof:i) compulsory trade controls over raw ivory; andii) a comprehensive and demonstrably effective reporting and enforcement system forworked ivory.
thDecision 12.39 was originally directed at selected countries noted in the ETIS analyses, but the 50 meeting of
the Standing Committee moved to extend the mandate of the Decision to cover all African Elephant range States.
CoP13 formally endorsed this development by approving, in Decision 13.26, an Action plan for the control of
trade in African elephant ivory that had been drafted by the CITES Secretariat. This action plan calls for all
African Elephant range States:•••

to prohibit unregulated domestic sale of ivory, whether raw, semi-worked, or worked;
to instruct all law enforcement and border control agencies to enforce such laws; andto engage in public awareness campaigns to publicise these prohibitions.
rd

In this regard, the first assessment of Africa’s response to this plan of action will be at the 53 meeting of thethStanding Committee in June 2005. Each subsequent meeting of the Standing Committee and the 14 meeting of
the Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP14) will also review progress on this matter as a formal part of theirbusiness. Through this iterative process, countries which fail to address unregulated domestic ivory markets
within a reasonable period of time face possible sanctions under CITES, including the suspension of all wildlife
trade options under the Convention in the near future. Egypt, however, is currently not targeted as part of thisprocess, although there remains scope for non-range States to be included by a decision of the Standing
Committee.

Sources and prices of raw ivory
Egypt’s main source for elephant tusks for the past 2000 years has been Sudan and the ivory has characteristically
been transported overland across the border between the two countries. This trade route in recent years has been
well documented (Martin, 2000a). Most tusks destined for Egypt seem to be initially smuggled into Sudan from7

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

the Democratic Republic of the Congo or Central African Republic, while some possibly originate in Kenya andChad. In fact, the origin of most tusks reaching Egypt since the late 1990s has probably been the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, instead of Sudan, according to information from ivory traders in Egypt and Sudan(Martin, 2005). Owing to prolonged civil war in the southern half of the country, no quantitative elephant survey
work has been undertaken in Sudan since the early 1980s, and the extent of elephant range and the status of thespecies remains essentially unknown today. Regardless, many elephant populations are believed to have sufferedlosses and currently, based on anecdotal information from local people and aid workers, the African ElephantDatabase records only some 300 elephants as an ‘informed guess’; the possibility of far greater numbers,
however, certainly exisits (Blanc et al., 2003). The elephant population of the Democratic Republic of the Congois believed to be far more substantial, but is also poorly surveyed owing to continuing conflict and war in theeastern and northern parts of the country, including all border areas with Sudan. The African Elephant Databasereports a total of 7667 elephants in the ‘definite’ category, another 2631 are listed as ‘probable’, 34 996 as‘possible’ and 17 554 as ‘speculative’; poaching, however, remains a significant problem and certain populations
are believed to be in serious decline, including those found in Garamba National Park on the Sudanese border(Blanc et al., 2003).
Ivory traders in Cairo interviewed in 2005 indicated that some quantities of raw ivory were still occasionallyobtained from Sudan, a view that had also been expressed by traders in Khartoum and Omdurman a couple ofmonths earlier. There is little doubt that ivory trade volumes between Sudan and Egypt have dropped
significantly relative to the past. With 75% of Sudan’s current production of worked ivory products reportedly
being sold to Chinese buyers (Martin, 2005), although not quantified in the same manner, there are strong
indications that raw ivory is going from Sudan to China as well. Still, there is evidence of lingering trade with
Egypt. In a press release dated 11 May 2005, the Sudanese Government stated “There is ivory which had been
seized through Notice number 11/2004 in the volume of 46 pieces, carried on a lorry with an intention of
smuggling to the Arab Republic of Egypt” (Anon., 2005a). Although this ivory was intercepted, it shows thatthe trade route from Sudan to Egypt is still active to some extent. Further, Sudanese authorities have also
expressed a desire to set up an inspection station at Wadi Halfa, near the Egyptian border, to prevent elephanttusks from being exported illegally into Egypt (Anon., 2005a).
At least two Egyptian traders mentioned one other source of elephant tusks: India. In fact, India was previously
mentioned as a source for ivory in Egypt on one occasion in 1998 (Martin, 2000a). During the course of thissurvey, one trader, an owner of an ivory workshop, showed the principal researcher a 28-kg tusk reportedly from
India. He claimed he could sell it wholesale
Table 2for EGP2000 (USD345)/kg. There are
Prices paid for tusks by ivory craftsmen and owners ofprivately-owned ivory stockpiles in India
ivory workshops in Egypt in March 2005 andand there is trade in a huge number ofcomparable data for 1998 and 1999
commodities (including tusks) from the west
coast and south of India to the Gulf States
Weight in kg
Price inPrice inPrice in USD/kg(Menon and Kumar, 1998); it is possible that
EGP/kg 2005
USD/kg 2005 1998-1999*
such tusks are flown from the Gulf States to
Cairo, as Egyptian traders indicated that the1
800-1000
138-17334 (< 1 kg)
tusks were transported by air into the
2-5
1000-1200
173-20762-80 (1-5 kg)
country. Occasionally, elephant tusks may
6-9
1500-1800
259-311
98-137 (> 5 kg)
also be flown into Egypt directly from India
10-19
2000
345
concealed in personal luggage. Overall,
20-30
2000-2600
345-449
however, this type of trade is very small and*Source: Martin and Stiles, 2000 (which includes raw ivory prices from aopportunistic in nature.
visit to Cairo in 1999, as well as data from the 1998 survey).

8

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

Raw ivory prices remain contingent upon the size and the quality of the ivory tusk in question, with higher prices
paid for larger tusks. In early 2005, ivory craftsmen and workshop owners reportedly paid about EGP1000(USD173)/kg for tusks weighing 2-3 kg and about EGP2000 (USD345) a kilogramme for larger tusks of 10 kg(Table 2). Larger tusks that weighed more than 10 kg were reportedly even more costly. In comparison to pricedata from surveys of the Egyptian ivory trade in 1998 and 1999, current US dollar prices at face value havenearly tripled (Table 2). When these values are adjusted for inflation using the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)Deflator Inflation Index, raw ivory prices in Egypt in US dollar terms in 2005 are believed to have increased to200-250% of 1998 levels.

Ivory carving and manufacturing
Egyptians have been carving ivory for some 8000 years (Kingdon, 1979). Almost all ivory production today
takes place in and around Cairo. In addition, a few ivory workshop owners mentioned that some ivory items arealso produced in Fayoum City. There was no evidence of ivory carving industries in Luxor, Aswan, Hurghada
or Sharm el-Sheikh, but the first two cities may have occasional artisans who could carry out repair work if
needed.
thCredit: Esmond Martin.

Most ivory craftsmen active today work in and around the famous 16 century market, the Khan al-Khalili in
Cairo, which features over 930 shops selling a vast array of Middle Eastern products (Seif, 1993). Most
craftsmen work out of sight, either in their homes or in tiny rooms hidden away from the pedestrian traffic; thisis mainly to avoid paying rent on workshop space and also because of increased law enforcement efforts tosuppress the trade in recent years. Generally speaking, throughout the course of this study, retail sellers were
extremely reluctant to provide introductions and allow access to ivory carving workshops. Because of thesecretive nature of Egypt’s ivory carving enterprises today, it was not possible to count the number of craftsmen

Craftsmen skilled in ivory carving increasingly work with camel bone, the most popular
substitute for ivory. After camels are slaughtered for meat, craftsmen buy the bones (inset) for
carving. Far more camel bone carvings than ivory carvings were seen for sale in Egypt in 2005.

9

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

working in ivory accurately and only an estimate of
their numbers is possible at this time.

Credit: Esmond Martin.

It appears that many only work part time in ivory,
concentrating nowadays on camel bone and woodas the most common materials for making figurinesand other products. In 1998, Cairo had an estimated100 craftsmen working in ivory, mostly on a parttime basis. In 2005, there were considerably fewer
ivory craftsmen at work, perhaps numbering
between 25 and 50 individuals at most, representing
somewhere between one-quarter and one-half of theprevious number. It is believed that very few ofthese individuals actually work in ivory on a fulltime basis. This downward trend in the number ofivory carvers in Egypt has been evident since 1989
(Martin and Stiles, 2000).

Credit: Esmond Martin.

A total of six ivory workshops were visited in andaround the Khan al-Khalili, where eight people, allmen, were observed crafting ivory products of somedescription. At these locations, an additional 15
Beaded necklaces are one of the mostcraftsmen had work benches, but they were notcommon ivory items made in Egypt in 2005.
present at the time of the visit. Egyptian carvers use
both hand implements and electric tools, especiallydrills. They usually work a six-day week for up to 12 hours a day and most are paid according to what they
produce. They reportedly earn between EGP300 (USD52) and EGP3000 (USD519) a month in wages, but
skilled craftsmen generally earn about
USD200 a month on average. Ivory
carvers can earn more by producing small
trinkets than by carving quality items thattake longer to make, as most buyers seem
to want inexpensive ivory items. Overall,ivory craftsmanship in Egypt iscomparatively poor and the emphasis on
cheap products clearly contributes to thisstate of affairs. The most common items
made are various types of jewellery,especially beaded necklaces, and small
human and animal figurines.
In the not too distant past, master ivory
craftsmen in Egypt used some rare carving
techniques and motifs, producing, forexample, a range of ivory pieces enhancedwith delicate inlays of turquoise, coral,
agate and silver. Such items found in the

Human and animal ivory figures are common in
Egypt’s souvenir shops (top left); Egyptian craftsmen
sometimes inlay with silver (bottom left); Christiancarvings, such as figures of St George and charactersfrom the nativity scene, appeal to some European
buyers (right).

10

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

retail market in Egypt in 2005 included whole polished and mounted tusks featuring elaborate inlays of Islamic
words of praise to God, or tusks inlaid with Christian symbols in stone and silver. Several shops featured
elephant figurines inlaid with dazzling stone and silver ceremonial trappings. Some carvers showed adeptness
in copying styles of ivory carving that are more commonly associated with the Chinese industry. For example,
local reproductions of Chinese figures fishing or the so-called ‘Happy Buddha’ sculpture were occasionallyobserved. Shop attendants were usually quick to point out that such wares were locally produced by carvers
skilled in copying the designs of others.
It is believed that most of the ivory products observed for sale in Egypt were made in the country between 1990
and 1999. There is some evidence of ivory products on sale which were made in Egypt before 1990, most likely
in the 1970s or 1980s when foreign tourism started to increase. In 1974, for example, there were only 676 000
foreign tourists, but by 1990 the number of foreign visitors had jumped to some 2 600 000 (Ibrahim and Ibrahim,
2003). Some products are still being made today, too - for example, cheap and unsophisticated jewellery andsmall figurines - but the scale of local manufacturing is certainly much diminished from the situation found in
the late 1990s. The ‘days of glory’ for Egypt’s ivory carvers are apparently fading and probably fading fast. In
many retail shops, it was reported that the carvers of exceptionally fine ivory sculptures were no longer alive or
had retired, or that most carvers still in business were elderly. Many retail dealers indicated that ivory carving
was a “dying art” and referred to their stock of ivory products as irreplaceable because fewer and fewer carvers
remained active in Egypt. Moreover, some dealers indicated that they were under increasing pressure to end thetrade in ivory and that, for this reason, young people were no longer being trained to carve ivory. There was little
evidence to suggest that high-quality ivory carving continues to any significant degree in Egypt today.

Retail outlets in Egypt
Cairo

Credit: Esmond Martin.

Cairo, being the largest city in Egypt and a major destination for foreign visitors, had the most retail outlets
selling the greatest number of ivory items. During the course of this survey, a total of 79 retail outlets were
documented displaying some 8930 ivory products (Table 3).

Cairo

11

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

Table 3
Number of shops and ivory items seen for sale in cities surveyed in Egypt, March/April 2005
City

No. shops with

No. items% of total items

ivory items
Cairo
Khan al-Khalili

34

3977

45% for Cairo

Hotels17732

8% for Cairo

Zamalak’s antique shops

8

46

1% for Cairo

Elsewhere

20

4175

47% for Cairo

Total

79

8930

83% for Egypt

Markets: touristic and old

7295

23% for Luxor

Hotels2

4

1% for Luxor

Luxor

Elsewhere (near hotels)

16

1009

77% for Luxor

Total

25

1308

12% for Egypt

Old market and corniche

12

330

88% for Aswan

Hotels2

34

9% for Aswan

Elsewhere192% for Aswan

Total

15

373

3% for Egypt

Hotels2

1114% for Hurghada

Ad Dahar3

56

69% for Hurghada

Aswan

Hurghada

Town centre

3

1417% for Hurghada

Total

8

81

1% for Egypt

3

17100% for Sharm el-Sheikh/

Sharm el-Sheikh/Na’ama Bay
Na’ama Centre

Na’ama Bay
Total
Grand total

3

17

130

10 709The Khan al-Khalili market had 45% of the ivory products seen in Cairo, with 34 shops displaying anywherefrom one to 1021 items, the latter figure being the largest number of ivory products seen in any single retail outlet
in all of Egypt. It is not surprising that the Khan al-Khalili has the greatest number of retail outlets selling ivory,
as most of the remaining ivory workshops are located within its precincts. Moreover, the Khan al-Khalili ispossibly the largest and certainly one of the most fascinating markets in the Middle East, attracting thousands offoreign visitors each day.

12

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

Credit: Esmond Martin

A total of 17 shops within thepremises of the main luxury hotels in
Cairo, including some belonging tointernational chains such as the Hilton
and the Sheraton, were found selling
732 ivory items. Comparatively,
shops in the cheaper hotels almost
never offered ivory items.
Most of the antique stores in Cairo areconcentrated in one area of the city,
Zamalak. There, eight out of some 40
stores visited were found selling a
total of 46 ivory items, including
The Khan al-Khalili market in Cairo has the greatest
some which were clearly antiques,
number of ivory items - about 4000 - of any market in
Egypt. Hardly any of these are bought by Egyptians.
but also some newer objects that werefrom other countries, especiallyChina, Japan and France. All of the ivory antiques and the majority of the newer, foreign-made, ivory items in
Egypt were found in this part of Cairo.
Another 20 retail outlets were scattered throughout Cairo, offering some 4175 ivory items between them. The
shops with the most items were large handicraft shops, called bazaars, most of which were located in Giza near
the Pyramids (where some of the luxury hotels are also situated) and one large outlet in the Coptic section of
town called Old Cairo.
Of the 8930 ivory items counted in Cairo, 6930 were classified by product type. Of these, 36% were humanfigurines, 32% animal figurines, including scarab beetles, and 24% jewellery, especially pendants, bangles andrings (Table 4).
Table 4
Types of ivory items seen for retail salein Cairo, March/April 2005

Human or Egyptian god figurines% of total
36

Animal figurines

32

Pendants

10Bangles

4

Rings

4

Necklaces

3

Miscellaneous jewellery

3

Walking sticks (full or handle)

2

Obelisks

1

Miscellaneous
Total

Credit: Esmond Martin.

Item

5
100

A craftsman making ivory bangles in
Egypt in 2005.

13

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

Luxor

Credit: Esmond Martin.

With the legendary Valley of the Kings, world-class
Pharaonic monuments and the Nile River on offer,
Luxor is one of Egypt’s major tourist destinations.
It is not surprising that Luxor was the second-mostimportant location selling ivory, with 25 retail
outlets collectively displaying 1308 ivory items.
The two main tourist markets near the Nile River
had seven shops with 295 ivory products, while only

Luxor, especially popular for tourists on cruiseboats, has the second-largest amount of ivory
items seen for sale in Egypt, after Cairo.

two shops in Luxor’s hotels displayed a mere four ivory
items. Elsewhere, however, 16 other shops featured a totalof 1009 ivory products at various locations scatteredthroughout the city, mainly near hotels and along the mainstreet, Khalid ibn al-Walid.
The most common items found for sale were human or
Egyptian god figurines (33%), necklaces (29%) and animal
figurines (12%), based on a sample of 858 items out of the1308 products that were catalogued (Table 5).

Table 5
Types of ivory items seen for retail salein Luxor, April 2005
Item

% of total

Human or Egyptian god figurines

33

Necklaces

29

Animal figurines

12

Paper knives

7

Cartouches

5

Pendants2

Bangles

2

Rings

2

Fly whisks

2

Miscellaneous

6

Total

100

Aswan

Credit: Esmond Martin.

Aswan is another important tourist destination and is the nearest major Egyptian city to the Sudanese border.
During this survey, a total of 15 retail shops were found offering 373 ivory items in total. Most shops werelocated on the Corniche el-Nil and the Sharia asSouk that is parallel to the Nile River. There were
12 souvenir shops with 330 ivory products along
these two roads. One hotel had two shops with 34
ivory items and one other shop – a bazaar on theoutskirts of Aswan - had nine ivory items.
A total of 326 items out of the 373 counted wereclassifiable under certain category headings. Of
these, 42% were animal figurines (mainly camels,
crocodiles, elephants and scarabs), 28% were
Aswan, in southern Egypt.

14

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

jewellery items and 18% were human or Egyptian god
figurines (Table 6).

Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh/Na’ama Bay
Hurghada is a relatively new resort on the Red Sea. In theearly 1980s, there were only a couple of hotels in the area,
but by 2003 more than 100 hotels with over 35 300 beds
were to be found in Hurghada, while another 12 hotels withover 4200 rooms existed in a suburb to the north called AlGouna (Anon., 2004). In spite of the large number oftourists, very few ivory items were found for sale. In total,
only eight shops were found, collectively selling 81 ivory
objects, two-thirds of which were located in three shops inthe souk in the older (ca. 1975) part of Hurghada, called Ad
Dahar. Sixty-nine items fell into certain categories of
product - 41% were animal figurines, 22% bangles, 14%
necklaces and 10% human or god figurines (Table 7).
Sharm el-Sheikh/Na’ama Bay is another modern large resort on
the Red Sea which has expanded phenomenally over the past
20 years. By 2003, this resort had 110 hotels with over 42 400
beds (Anon., 2004). Although catering to a predominantly
European tourist market, almost no ivory was found for saleduring this survey. Altogether, only 17 ivory items wereobserved, including seven animal figurines, five necklaces andfive bangles, in three shops all located in Na’ama Centre in
Na’ama Bay.

Table 6
Types of ivory items seen for retail sale in
Aswan,April 2005
Item

% of total

Animal figurines

42

Human or Egyptian god figurines

18

Pendants

16

Bangles5

Necklaces

4

Walking sticks (full or handle)

4

Ear-rings, pair3

Miscellaneous

8

Total

100

Table 7
Types of ivory items seen for retailsale in Hurghada, April 2005
Item

% of total

Animal figurines
Bangles
Necklaces
Human/Egyptian god figurines
Miscellaneous
Total

41
22
14
10
13
100

Purchasers of ivory products in Egypt

Credit: Esmond Martin.

Reportedly, Egyptians do not buy ivory objects. Since at least 2004, themain buyers of ivory in Egypt have been Europeans, especially Italians
and Spanish. Italians prefer smaller items it seems, while Spanish buyers
have a preference for larger pieces. Other frequent buyers identified byretail merchants included French and Latin American customers and a
few Gulf State nationals. These results essentially mirror the findings ofthe 1998 survey (Martin, 1999).

Prices for worked ivory
Recently made ivory items
Prices for ivory products varied considerably in Egypt, depending on thequality of the craftsmanship, size, age and condition of the item inquestion, as well as on the type of shop and the amount of bargaining

15

Painted ivory figurines, asseen here, are rarely
produced in Egypt.

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

Table 8Retail prices for ivory items made after 1990 in Egypt, March/April 2005
Item
Human/Egyptian god figurines
Animal figurines

Pendants

Size in cm

Price range USD

Average price USD10

26-1002

185

5

22-35

29

7.5

35-173105

1021-550

233

5

11-17

14

Necklaces, beaded

22-104

51

2.5

9-86

35

3.3

60-121

81

Rings

2.5

5-8

7

Walking sticks

100553-1800

1128

35-164

107

15

43-52

48

40 x 40

2418

2418

BanglesWalking sticks withivory handle
Paper knives
Chess set, all pieces and board
Tusks, carved

40518-950734

45518-1036

777

60

1183

105

5000

120

7000

Exchange rate: USD1 = EGP5.79
skill put into play by the consumer. Few shops had fixed prices and in most outlets prices could be reduced
usually by 10-30% without hard bargaining. Prices recorded in this survey were those first given by thesalesman, without extensive bargaining, but included a discount if offered. Prices excluded commissions that arecommonly paid to taxi drivers and tour guides.

Credit: Esmond Martin.

Rings were the cheapest items, someas low as EGP30 (USD5), followedby 2.5-cm scarabs for around EGP50(USD9) each. Animal, human andEgyptian god figurines varied widelyin price. A 10-cm Pharaoh could cost
as little as EGP250 (USD43) or asmuch as EGP5800 (USD1002). A
10-cm animal, such as an elephant,
varied in price from EGP120
Ancient Egyptians regarded scarabs as sacred and scarab(USD21) to EGP3185 (USD550).
objects are a feature of Egypt’s souvenir shops
Jewellery prices were more constant,probably as the quality is fairly
standard. A medium-length necklace with beads of about one centimetre in diameter sold for about EGP342(USD59). Carved tusks were the most expensive items, especially large ones, averaging USD7000 (Table 8).

16

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

As with the price of raw ivory in Egypt between 1998/99 and 2005, prices for finished ivory products on the
Egyptian market in 2005 appear to have risen during the six-and-a-half-year period. While it is important to notethat this judgement is not based on price comparisons for identical articles, prices collected in 1998 for a numberof items comparable to those noted in 2005 were consistently lower. For example, in 1998, a simple ring retailed
at USD2, but by 2005 a similar ring was typically about USD7. A 91-cm ivory walking stick cost USD203 in
1998, but similar articles in 2005 had an average price of over USD1000, while a full ivory chess set was priced
at USD1020 in 1998 but USD2418 in 2005. In both 1998 and 2005, prices collected were those given without
serious bargaining on the part of the investigators. The rise in price of raw ivory noted since 1998-99 (seeTable 2) would undoubtedly have contributed to a rise in price for worked ivory articles.

Antiques

Foreign-made items carved since the 1970s

Credit: Esmond Martin.

A total of 13 ivory antiques were seen for sale in Cairo (defined here asivory items made over 100 years ago), but none were found anywhere else
in Egypt. Amongst these products were six Chinese items: a carved tusk
(USD2073), a card case (USD777), a fan and three human figurines,
including a 20-cm man for USD3000 and another man of 22 cm for
USD2500, both of which reportedly came from King Farouk’s personalcollection. There were also three French items: a 22-cm box (USD2591),
a fan (USD1123) and a glasses case (USD864). Finally, there were two
Japanese figurines of men (USD2000 and USD691) and one German
portrait on ivory with an ivory frame (USD207). No identifiable Egyptianivory antiques were found during this survey.

Ivory
is
occasionallystained on purpose toresemble antique ivory

Only a handful of ivory items that had been carved abroad were found forsale in Egypt, nearly all in Cairo. From tropical Africa, there were twocarved tusks (one being 60 cm on sale for USD1209), three combs and a
few busts. From China, a 30-cm boat (USD2073), a Chinese magic ball (USD691) and a landscape piece wereidentified. Two Indian Rama figurines were also found selling for USD1500 and USD1000 each.

DISCUSSION
Using the 1998 survey results for comparison (Martin 2000a), there is little doubt that Egypt’s domestic ivory
trade has undergone considerable change in the intervening years to 2005. Following changes in Egypt’s
legislation for implementing CITES in late 1999, the government actively moved against the trade and seized
raw tusks and worked ivory products on a number of occasions between September 1999 and December 2002.
The two biggest were a seizure of 1525 kg of raw/semi-worked ivory in the town of Kom Ombo in southern
Egypt, in August 2000, and one of 850 kg in Aswan, in November 2001 (Table 1). The tusks from these twolarge seizures had been transported overland from Sudan to Egypt and were destined for Cairo’s workshops.
As a result of increased law enforcement on the part of the Egyptian authorities, it became more difficult for
traders to obtain tusks from Sudan. At the same time, ivory prices in Sudan increased; three-kilogramme tusks
in the Khartoum/Omdurman market increased from USD44/kg, in 1997, to USD105/kg in 2005 (Martin 1998;
2005). These three factors - increased law enforcement, a reduction in supply, and an increased cost at source meant that the price of tusks in Cairo more than doubled in 1998 US dollar terms when adjusted for inflation,

17

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

and increased more than five-fold in the face-value of Egyptian pounds from 1998 to early 2005. This has
undoubtedly had a knock-on effect on prices for finished ivory products on the local market. In 2005, when
adjusted to account for inflation using the GDP Deflator Inflation Index, these appeared to be anywhere fromtwice to over four times those of late 1998, in US dollar terms, for comparable items.
Government attempts to suppress thetrade, coupled with the major increasein the price of raw ivory, as well as a
price increase in carved objects, hascaused retail sales to decrease
substantially. Further, it is worth

Credit: Esmond Martin.

noting that craftsmanship has
certainly not improved to justify themuch higher prices for Egyptian ivory
products currently on the market.
Almost every shopkeeper admitted
that sales had fallen in the past few
years, although foreign tourists (whobuy nearly all the ivory) rose from
Most ivory in Egypt is sold in souvenir shops, this being one
3 453 900 in 1998 to 8 103 609 inof the largest; there are no shops selling only ivory in2004 (Anon., 2005b). Some of theEgypt.
main ivory buyers - the Italians,
Spanish and French in particular - increased in numbers and 1 631 400 tourists to Egypt came from these three
countries in 2004 (Anon., 2005b).

By 2005, more shopkeepers were warning customers against buying ivory, having become increasingly awarethat it was illegal to sell raw and worked ivory in Egypt (except for bona fide antiques with proper
documentation). In fact, some observers have interpreted Egyptian law to suggest that ivory trade has been
illegal since 1994 (Martin, 2000a) but, if so, this fact was not adequately publicized until after the 1998 survey.
By 2005, it was noted that shopkeepers who did not sell ivory on their premises were usually the ones warning
customers against such trade. On the other hand, those with ivory products for sale sometimes tried to propose
ways of evading the law by offering to put in writing that the ivory items were camel bone or that they were
antiques. Others incorrectly stated that it was not against the law to take out small quantities of ivory items for
personal use. In general, however, all vendors had little hope for the future of the ivory trade and most appeared
to be trying to sell their existing stock off as soon as possible in order to get out of the business completely.
Owing to fears of the illegality of the ivory business in Egypt, and because of the high prices for most ivory items
and the generally poor state of sales, some of the larger shops have already moved away from ivory completely
to sell other merchandise. One of the biggest and oldest retail ivory shops in the Khan al-Khalili, which also had
an adjoining ivory workshop in 1998, apparently closed down in 2000, when government officials were actively
tightening up on law enforcement. The shop owner in question reportedly moved all his ivory items to his homeand replaced them with camel bone articles. The last craftsman left attached to the shop, still there in 2005,
carved only camel bone in the shop. Craftsmen throughout Cairo are progressively giving up ivory to carvecamel bone and wood as substitutes.
Compared with the situation in 1998, the number of shops selling ivory in Cairo, Luxor and Aswan in early 2005
had declined - from 142 to 119 - and the number of ivory products found on the retail market had decreased, from18

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

21 460 to 10 611. The retail ivory trades in Aswan and in Luxor have been reduced by 89% and 78%,
respectively, while in Cairo the trade has apparently dropped by about 25%. One reason for the higher rate ofavailability of ivory in Cairo is that inspections are reportedly more difficult in the sprawling metropolis than in
the much smaller-scale markets of either Aswan or Luxor. Inspectors have said that the Khan al-Khalili is so
convoluted, with many twisting alleyways, that it is particularly difficult to police effectively. Still, some retail
outlets offering hundreds of ivory products are found on the major thoroughfares of the market.
Table 9Types of ivory items seen for retail salein Egypt, March/April 2005
Item
Human/Egyptian god figurines

Animal figurines
Pendants
Necklaces
BanglesRings
Walking sticks (full or handle)
Cartouches
Obelisks
Paper knives
Tusks, carvedMiscellaneous
Total

Concerning the prospect of future ivory sales in Egypt, it isimportant to note that the trade could possibly increase if
Japanese and Chinese visitors were to grow in number. In
neighbouring Sudan, most demand for ivory products comesfrom Chinese people, notably expatriates working in Sudan’spetroleum, construction and mining sectors (Martin, 2005).
In 2004, Japanese and Chinese visitors to Egypt made up less than 1%
and less than 0.5%, respectively, of the total number of foreign tourists
to Egypt (Anon., 2005b) and consequently, hardly any name seals or
chopsticks were found for sale during this survey. It is reasoned,
however, that more Asian tourists might lead to greater levels of
production of these products if retail level prices were consideredreasonable by such consumers. Conversely, the generally poor qualityof ivory craftsmanship in Egypt is probably an important factor
inhibiting the sale of ivory products to discerning Asian buyers.
Despite the present drop in sales, a few craftsmen were still seen
making new ivory items, sometimes on special order, such as beads by
the bag-full. It is hard to understand how the craftsmen sell more newitems when turnover in the shops is reportedly so slow. In some cases,
it was noted that certain shops still displayed in 2005 the same ivory
figurines that were observed in 1998! It is likely that such figurines,
once sold, will not be replaced, if the government crack-down to curtailthe ivory market in Egypt continues, as has noticeably been the case forother wildlife products. Skins from gazelles, leopards and zebras, forexample, were openly displayed for sale in the Khan al-Khalili in 1998,
but this no longer occurs.
19% of total

34
29
9
5
4
4
2
1
1
1
1
9
100

Credit: Esmond Martin.

There has also been some change in the type of ivory
products found for sale in early 2005 as opposed to thesituation observed in 1998. During the earlier study,
jewellery made up only 10% of the ivory items on display in
Egypt but, by 2005, jewellery items accounted for 22% of allof the products observed (Table 9). This is possibly because
jewellery is generally small and easy to hide in luggage and,with the official crack-down, tourists have become moreconcerned about being caught. Also, ivory jewellery is far
cheaper than most figurines and, with the steep increase inivory prices since 1998, such products have the best chanceof appealing to an increasing number of package tourists on
low budgets.

Some of these exact ivory
figurines were photographedby one of the authors in 1998,
illustrating
their
slow
turnover.

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

CONCLUSIONSThe Egyptian ivory trade has clearly decreased since 1998. The number of ivory products on display for sale has
declined to about half of the volume found some six years ago. This development is in contrast to the current
situation in neighbouring Sudan, where the Khartoum/Omdurman market has seen a sharp increase in the volume
of worked ivory offered for sale at the retail level since 1997. In fact, remarkably, Sudan, with virtually no tourist
industry whatsoever, now has more ivory items for sale than all of Egypt. The principal reason for the decline
in Egypt’s ivory market is that the government has been taking severe measures against the ivory trade at least
since 2000, while the Sudanese Government has done very little to inhibit the expansion of its domestic ivory
market during the same period (Martin, 2005). It is imperative that Egyptian law enforcement authorities keep
up the pressure on local ivory markets or, with the possible increase in Asian visitors, especially Chinese – as has
happened in Khartoum – demand for ivory trinkets might increase.
Altogether 10 709 ivory products were found during the course of this survey. Using the conversion formulas
contained in the ETIS analysis to CoP13 to derive an estimated weight from the number of worked ivory pieces
observed (Milliken et al., 2004), and assuming that each elephant yields 1.88 tusks (Parker and Martin, 1982), it
is possible to estimate the number of elephants represented by this trade. Accordingly, the volume of ivory
products found on the Egyptian market in March/April 2005 would represent a minimum of 582 tusks or 310
elephants. In fact, the true figure could be considerably (possibly 2.8 times) more as the average tusk weight of
the ivory seized in Egypt presented in Table 1 is only 1.2652 kg, compared to an average tusk weight of 3.5701
kg derived from the global seizure data in ETIS (Milliken et al., 2004). Thus, Egypt’s retail ivory market in early2005 could have represented as many as 873 elephants, if the lower average tusk weight of Table 1 is accurate
and were used in the calculation. Whether 310 or 873 elephants, or somewhere in between, these values are
simply a static snapshot of Egypt’s ivory trade at a particular point in time and do not take into account any
turnover in the trade, ivory sold in other locations that were not visited, or any ivory stocks that were not openly
displayed in the retail outlets surveyed. With that in mind, the overarching conclusion is that scale of Egypt’s
current trade in ivory is a serious conservation concern.
Despite the highly commendable effort by the Egyptian Government since 1998 to inhibit local production andivory sales, it must be noted that Egypt currently does not comply with the CITES requirements for internal tradefor ivory contained in Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP12). In this regard, firstly, it appears that there has been
an inadequate attempt to register all importers, manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers dealing in raw, semiworked or worked ivory. It appears that the retail merchants observed selling ivory products during this survey,
do so outside of the bounds of government regulation and oversight. Secondly, there is no nationwide procedurefor formally informing visitors about CITES restrictions on trade in ivory. During this study, none of the 130
retail outlets selling ivory displayed signs or had literature informing prospective buyers that it is illegal topurchase ivory products and import them to their home countries without government permits. Thirdly, thegovernment apparently has not introduced recording and inspection procedures to enable the CITESManagement Authority or other appropriate government agencies to monitor the domestic ivory trade within
Egypt. These inspection procedures should be implemented with compulsory trade controls for raw ivory, andwith a comprehensive and demonstrably effective reporting and enforcement system for worked ivory.
The seizures of ivory carried out by Customs, police and officials from the Ministry of Agriculture & Land
Reclamation from 1999 to 2002 have been partly successful in reducing the ivory trade in Egypt. Since late2002, however, oversight efforts by the government appear to have waned with respect to sales of ivory productson the retail market. Some shops frequented by tourists openly display hundreds of ivory products, a situation

20

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

indicating little fear of detection or punitive law enforcement action. What is now needed is a concerted plan ofaction to implement fully the CITES requirements for internal trade controls on ivory. In other African countries,
for example Ethiopia, officials have recently managed to implement CITES restrictions relating to ivory very
effectively, perhaps as they have the added incentive to save their country’s elephants, which is not the case in
Egypt. However, without Egypt’s full support to stop ivory trading, negative international publicity and criticism
in CITES fora could ensue. It is believed that another concerted effort to crack down on the domestic ivory
market, especially that which is found in Cairo, is warranted and that such a move would reduce Egypt’s ivory
trade considerably. By the same token, moves to curtail ivory trading in Egypt would certainly generatefavourable international publicity for the country and pre-empt any punitive oversight action on the part of the
CITES authorities.

RECOMMENDATIONS
The following actions are recommended to improve ivory trade controls in Egypt and ensure implementation of
Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP12).
Improving policy, legislation and regulatory measures
Egypt should be commended for the considerable progress it has made to provide a sound legal footing for the
implementation of CITES since late 1999. There is little doubt that the Egyptian Government now strives toimplement the Convention responsibly and with dedicated commitment. Still, the scale of the current domestic
trade in ivory indicates that the requirements of Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP12) concerning the internal
trade in ivory have been overlooked and are not being implemented effectively. In this regard:•

there is a need to review Ministerial Decree No. 1150 of 1999 to ensure that it provides a strong legal basis
from which to move against the continued display and sale of elephant ivory products in Egypt’s retailmarkets; and•if the scope of Ministerial Decree No. 1150 of 1999 is insufficient to support decisive law enforcement action
at the retail level, then appropriate amendments and regulatory measures need to be promulgated in order tofulfill all CITES requirements with respect to internal trade in ivory.

Addressing implementation and enforcement deficiencies
Judging by the lengthy list of wildlife trade seizures in recent years, Egypt has established a good record ofeffective law enforcement for implementing CITES. These actions are most directly associated with import andexport trade moving through the country’s ports of entry and exit. With this seizure record, it appears that goodcollaboration exists between Egyptian Customs, wildlife law enforcement authorities and other law enforcement
authorities. With respect to the internal marketplace and the retail sector, however, there is a need to review
present strategies and improve law enforcement oversight. In this regard:•

Consideration should be given to developing a mobile, investigative wildlife trade enforcement unit that
regularly monitors key retail markets - for example the Khan al-Khalili, Old Cairo and Giza in Cairo, andtourist markets in Luxor and Aswan - for wildlife trade infractions, especially relating to elephant ivory. Thisbody should be empowered to make seizures and arrests as appropriate.

21

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005•

Law enforcement actions to seize ivory products that are being illegally sold on the retail market should beundertaken. TRAFFIC is committed to assisting the government in identifying retail shops and hotels thatare currently selling ivory products in Egypt.

•

In view of the large number of shops found selling ivory products during this study, despite the success ofearlier enforcement activity, it is advised that a focused law enforcement campaign should be undertaken at
the earliest possible moment and, thereafter, appropriate follow-up actions should occur to ensure that ivory
products do not “'creep back”' into the retail market.

Raising awareness and publicity on wildlife trade controls
There is an apparent lack of information for tourists and other visitors to Egypt about CITES and wildlife trade
restrictions, in general, and elephants and ivory trade, in particular. In this regard:•

Appropriate publicity materials need to be produced and disseminated through Egypt’s tourist networks andinto key tourist markets in the country.

Being reviewed as part of the CITES Standing Committee process for assessing domestic ivory markets
worldwide
While Decision 12.39, followed by Decision 13.26, has resulted in an intersessional process under the directionof the CITES Standing Committee to assess compliance of various countries with CITES ivory traderequirements for internal markets, Egypt is currently not part of this process. In this regard:•

The Standing Committee should recommend, at its 53rd meeting, that CITES Parties consider including
Egypt as one of the countries to be accessed pursuant to Decision 13.26, within the context of the Action planfor the control of trade in African elephant ivory.

22

NO OASIS: THE EGYPTIAN IVORY TRADE IN 2005

REFERENCES
Anon. (2004). Egypt Tourism Figures. Ministry of Tourism, Cairo, Egypt. 67 pp.
Anon. (2005a). Press Statement SEN/3/1 11 May 2005. Unpublished press release, Embassy of Sudan, Nairobi,
Kenya.
Anon. (2005b). Number of Visitors Jan. 2004/Dec. 2004. Ministry of Tourism, Cairo, Egypt. Unpublishedreport.
Blanc, J.J., Thouless, C.R., Hart, J.A., Dublin, H.T., Douglas-Hamilton, I., Craig, C.G., and Barnes, R.F.W.
(2003). African Elephant Status Report 2002: An update from the African Elephant Database. IUCN/SSC
African Elephant Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
Ibrahim, F. and Ibrahim, B. (2003). Egypt, An Economic Geography. I.B. Tauris, London, UK. 176 pp.
Kingdon, J. (1979). East African Mammals Vol. III Part B (Large Mammals). The University of Chicago Press,
Chicago, USA. Pp 39-40.
Martin, E. (1998). New buyers of ivory in the Sudan threaten elephants. Oryx 32 (3), 166-169.
Martin, E. (1999). Tusk trade booming, Egypt: Thousands of illegal ivory pieces for sale, fuelling poaching inCentral Africa. BBC Wildlife 17 (3), 17-21.
Martin, E. (2000a). The present-day Egyptian ivory trade. Oryx 34 (2), 101-108.
Martin, E. (2000b). Egyptian government seizes illegal ivory consignments. Pachyderm 28, 56-57.
Martin, E. (2005). The Khartoum Connection. Swara 28 (1), 18-19.
Martin, E. and Stiles, D. (2000). The Ivory Markets of Africa. Save the Elephants, Nairobi, Kenya and London,
UK.
Menon, V. and Kumar, A. (1998). Signed and Sealed: The Fate of the Asian Elephant. Asian Elephant Researchand Conservation Centre, New Delhi, India.
Milliken, T., Burn, R.W. and Sangalakula, L. (2002). An analysis of the spatial aspects of the elephant productthseizure data in ETIS; a report to the 12 meeting of the Conference of the Parties, CoP12 Doc 34.1, Annex
2. CITES Secretariat, Geneva, Switzerland.
Milliken, T., Burn, R.W., Underwood, F.M. and Sangalakula, L. (2004). The Elephant Trade Information Systemthand the illicit trade in ivory: a report to the 13 meeting of the Conference of the Parties, CoP13 Doc 29.2,
Annex. CITES Secretariat, Geneva, Switzerland.
Parker, I.S.C. and Martin, E.B. (1982). How many elephants are killed for the ivory trade? Oryx 16: 235-239.
Seif, 0. (1993). Khan al-Khalili – a Comprehensive Mapped Guide to Cairo’s Historic Bazaar. The American
University in Cairo Press, Cairo, Egypt.
Siliotti, A. (2204). The Illustrated Guide to the Valley of the Kings and the Theban Necropolises and Temples.
The American University in Cairo Press, Cairo, Egypt. 168 pp.
Stiles, D. and Martin, E (2001). Status and trends of the ivory trade in Africa, 1989-1999. Pachyderm 30, 2436.
Wahby, E. (2005). North Coast Opens to Foreign Tourists. Business Monthly (The Journal of the American
Chamber of Commerce in Egypt) 20-21, April.

23

TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, works to ensurethat trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to theconservation of nature. It has offices covering most parts of theworld and works in close co-operation with the Secretariat of theConvention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITES).

For further information contact:
The Director
TRAFFIC East/Southern Africa
c/o WWF-Southern Africa
Regional Programme Office
P.O. Box CY 1409
Causeway
HarareZimbabwe
Tel.: (263) 4 252533
Fax: (263) 4 703902
Email: traffic@wwfsarpo.org

is a joint programme of

The Executive Director
TRAFFIC International
219a Huntingdon Road
Cambridge CB3 0DL
UK
Tel.: (44) 1223 277427
Fax: (44) 1223 277237
Email: traffic@trafficint.org