Will Lebanon witness a bread crisis?
25 كانون الثاني 2022 14:20
The Union of Bakery Owners announced that it had recently received "several complaints from bakery owners in all Lebanese regions about a severe shortage of flour designated for the production of bread, which negatively affected the work of these bakeries and forced them to stop making Lebanese bread."
"After contacting the Mills Association and inquiring about the reasons for this shortage, its response was that mills have stopped working due to the unavailability of subsidized wheat, knowing that they submitted the necessary documents to import wheat and obtained the approval of the Ministry of Economy and Trade," the union added.
Accordingly, the union appealed to "Prime Minister Najib Mikati to highlight this issue, especially since it is related to people's food and livelihood, and it is absolutely unacceptable to expose the bread industry sector to any shortage in light of the difficult economic and living conditions in the country."
The union indicated that "more than seven ships loaded with wheat are anchored at sea, waiting for their files to be completed and their payment in order to unload their cargo at the mills, because importers will not dare to unload the cargo before sending a payment in accordance with the approved mechanism."
The union warned against "the Central Bank's continuous delay in issuing a decision regarding imported wheat bills, which negatively affect the poor and low-income people, thus exposing the sector to problems."
"After contacting the Mills Association and inquiring about the reasons for this shortage, its response was that mills have stopped working due to the unavailability of subsidized wheat, knowing that they submitted the necessary documents to import wheat and obtained the approval of the Ministry of Economy and Trade," the union added.
Accordingly, the union appealed to "Prime Minister Najib Mikati to highlight this issue, especially since it is related to people's food and livelihood, and it is absolutely unacceptable to expose the bread industry sector to any shortage in light of the difficult economic and living conditions in the country."
The union indicated that "more than seven ships loaded with wheat are anchored at sea, waiting for their files to be completed and their payment in order to unload their cargo at the mills, because importers will not dare to unload the cargo before sending a payment in accordance with the approved mechanism."
The union warned against "the Central Bank's continuous delay in issuing a decision regarding imported wheat bills, which negatively affect the poor and low-income people, thus exposing the sector to problems."