Jay generally cooks food and curries as many separate dishes. We frequently have rice with six or eight items on our plates. We eat lots of vegetables, and generally fish or chicken. These things are stored in the fridge in individual containers. Then, for the meal, the food is put cold on the plate and just heated up for serving.
Even with taxes, this microwave in my lcoal Walmart costs about $US 50.
We noticed that the apartment we are renting in Luxor, does not have a microwave. Buying one will be one of our very first purchases as we are going to be there for five month. We asked about the price in Egyptian Pounds and it seems as though they start at around the equivalent of $CA 110 or 120.
I've often noticed that items, such as this, are relative bargains in North America. Often in poorer countries, the same electrical or electronic item can cost twice as much. This scenario definitely holds true from places like Sri Lanka, and even parts of SE Asia. It really can't be the origin of manufacture as all this junk is produced in the same Chinese factories.
I'm guessing the more expensive prices have to do with the lower volume of sales. Even exchange rates and duties cannot really add up to such distorted pricing. Sometimes the rich pay less, much less.