Association of Lebanese Industrialists: Failure to secure US dollars for raw materials threatens food security
29 حزيران 2020 17:16
The Association of Lebanese Industrialists (ALI) on Monday warned that failure to provide stable and sustainable liquidity in US dollars for the import of raw materials would inevitably lead to decreased production, and consequently threaten consumer and food security in Lebanon.
The Association of Lebanese Industrialists, headed by Dr. Fadi Al-Gemayel, pointed out in a statement that industrialists have started submitting applications to benefit from the Central Bank's circular, which has allocated $100 million to import industrial raw materials; however, the association deemed the amount of $100 million (oxygen fund) insufficient to cover the industrial sector's needs for more than 15 days.
"This is an important step, but we hope that it will pave the way to obtain an amount of $3 billion dollars -- by transferring funds from the accounts of industrialists in banks -- as this is the sum that the national industry needs to import raw materials and produce approximately $10 billion worth of goods for the local market, and more than $3 billion for export," the ALI's statement added.