Egypt is the world's primary producer of jasmine, with most cultivation in Shubra Balula, Monufiya. The flowers are harvested daily for six months a year, and the extracted oils are exported for use in products from perfumes to confectioneries and aromatherapy. Yet, laborers endure low wages tied to daily production, limited to the harvest season, and exhausting work that begins in the dead of night.
In the expansive jasmine fields of Shubra Balula in Monufiya Governorate, the harvest begins just before dawn, as workers venture into the darkness to hand-pick the delicate blooms. Egypt, the global leader in jasmine production, sustains this daily ritual for six months each year, transforming the flowers into valuable oils exported for perfumes, confectioneries, and aromatherapy products. Locally, these fields have evolved into a tourism draw, promoted as embodying rural beauty and an authentic peasant lifestyle.
Behind this picturesque facade, however, lie harsh working conditions. Laborers receive low wages directly linked to daily output, confined to the harvest season alone, leaving them vulnerable during the off-months. A field report details how journalists joined workers on one such night to document the grueling efforts that start in the dead of night and extend into morning. This agricultural endeavor, vital to the economy, underscores the disparity between its tourist appeal and the daily hardships faced by those who toil in it, with no immediate improvements noted.