Beirut: In case of bankruptcy LebanonKhalili Mansoor Have to stand in line for hours everyday to buy bread He cannot bear any expenses for his family and for a few days.
In a country that boasted the nickname “the Switzerland of the Middle East” for its thriving banking sector before the financial crisis in 2019, it has been hard to make up for a chronic lack of staples of the Lebanese diet.
Lebanon defaulted on its national debt in 2020 and its currency has lost nearly 90 percent of its black market value.
world Bank The financial crisis has been termed as one of the worst since the 19th century. United Nations Now four out of five consider Lebanese living below the poverty line.
Faced with demands from international creditors for painful reforms in exchange for releasing new aid, the beleaguered government has been forced to end subsidies on most essential commodities – though not yet on wheat.
The price of subsidized bread has gone up, though less than if there were no subsidies, but bakeries have started rationing the staple.
A bag of flat Arabic pitta-like bread now officially sells for 13,000 Lebanese pounds (43 US cents). Its price in the black market is more than 30,000.
“Last week I went without bread for three days because I cannot pay 30,000,” said 48-year-old Mansoor.
For Mansour and most Lebanese people, buying bread means standing in long queues outside bakeries for hours and sometimes, when it is their turn, the bakeries run out of bread.
“Today I queued for three hours, tomorrow at 2.30. What next?” Mansoor said outside a Beirut bakery on Friday.
“I have to feed my family. What else can I do?” Mansoor, who earns the equivalent of $50 a month working in a pastry shop.
‘Wild West’ – Most bakeries limit the sale of bread to one or two bags per customer, and each bag holds six flatbreads.
The subsidized roti is often bought in large quantities and re-sold on the black market by unscrupulous dealers.
“The queues have gotten worse over the past two weeks,” said bakery owner Mohamed Mehdi. “We are facing a huge shortage.”
The 49-year-old said the bakery business has become like the “Wild West”. “Some customers come armed with guns and knives,” he complained.
Lebanese media often published reports of fights in bakeries, and even shots fired by customers demanding more bread.
In Talbaya, eastern Lebanon, a customer stormed into a bakery on Tuesday, leaving him unable to buy any more bread, a report said.
The customer pushed an employee, then ransacked the bakery, forcing the military to intervene, it added.
“What is happening is a disgrace… and it is even more difficult than the petrol shortage” that gripped Lebanon last year, said Mehdi.
‘Stimulation’ – According to industry data, Lebanon imports 80 percent of its wheat from war-torn Ukraine.
But the country’s ability to store wheat suffered a major setback when a deadly explosion at the port of Beirut in August 2020 severely damaged the country’s main grain warehouses.
The government and bakeries have blamed the shortage of bread.
The bakeries accused the cash-strapped officials of failing to provide adequate subsidized flour.
The economy ministry has denied the claim and accused bakeries of hoarding subsidized flour to be used in non-subsidised products such as sweets.
Officials also claim that the presence of more than one million refugees from war-torn Syria in Lebanon is partly responsible for Lebanon’s economic collapse.
Some Lebanese have turned to outrage against the refugees and demanding their return home, accusing Syrian refugees of buying subsidized bread to sell on the black market.
There have been reports of some bakeries having separate queues for Lebanese and Syrians.
This has prompted the UN refugee agency to express its concern.
“Lebanon is witnessing an increase in tensions and excitement between different communities, leading to local violence on the streets against refugees,” UNHCR warned on Friday.
In a country that boasted the nickname “the Switzerland of the Middle East” for its thriving banking sector before the financial crisis in 2019, it has been hard to make up for a chronic lack of staples of the Lebanese diet.
Lebanon defaulted on its national debt in 2020 and its currency has lost nearly 90 percent of its black market value.
world Bank The financial crisis has been termed as one of the worst since the 19th century. United Nations Now four out of five consider Lebanese living below the poverty line.
Faced with demands from international creditors for painful reforms in exchange for releasing new aid, the beleaguered government has been forced to end subsidies on most essential commodities – though not yet on wheat.
The price of subsidized bread has gone up, though less than if there were no subsidies, but bakeries have started rationing the staple.
A bag of flat Arabic pitta-like bread now officially sells for 13,000 Lebanese pounds (43 US cents). Its price in the black market is more than 30,000.
“Last week I went without bread for three days because I cannot pay 30,000,” said 48-year-old Mansoor.
For Mansour and most Lebanese people, buying bread means standing in long queues outside bakeries for hours and sometimes, when it is their turn, the bakeries run out of bread.
“Today I queued for three hours, tomorrow at 2.30. What next?” Mansoor said outside a Beirut bakery on Friday.
“I have to feed my family. What else can I do?” Mansoor, who earns the equivalent of $50 a month working in a pastry shop.
‘Wild West’ – Most bakeries limit the sale of bread to one or two bags per customer, and each bag holds six flatbreads.
The subsidized roti is often bought in large quantities and re-sold on the black market by unscrupulous dealers.
“The queues have gotten worse over the past two weeks,” said bakery owner Mohamed Mehdi. “We are facing a huge shortage.”
The 49-year-old said the bakery business has become like the “Wild West”. “Some customers come armed with guns and knives,” he complained.
Lebanese media often published reports of fights in bakeries, and even shots fired by customers demanding more bread.
In Talbaya, eastern Lebanon, a customer stormed into a bakery on Tuesday, leaving him unable to buy any more bread, a report said.
The customer pushed an employee, then ransacked the bakery, forcing the military to intervene, it added.
“What is happening is a disgrace… and it is even more difficult than the petrol shortage” that gripped Lebanon last year, said Mehdi.
‘Stimulation’ – According to industry data, Lebanon imports 80 percent of its wheat from war-torn Ukraine.
But the country’s ability to store wheat suffered a major setback when a deadly explosion at the port of Beirut in August 2020 severely damaged the country’s main grain warehouses.
The government and bakeries have blamed the shortage of bread.
The bakeries accused the cash-strapped officials of failing to provide adequate subsidized flour.
The economy ministry has denied the claim and accused bakeries of hoarding subsidized flour to be used in non-subsidised products such as sweets.
Officials also claim that the presence of more than one million refugees from war-torn Syria in Lebanon is partly responsible for Lebanon’s economic collapse.
Some Lebanese have turned to outrage against the refugees and demanding their return home, accusing Syrian refugees of buying subsidized bread to sell on the black market.
There have been reports of some bakeries having separate queues for Lebanese and Syrians.
This has prompted the UN refugee agency to express its concern.
“Lebanon is witnessing an increase in tensions and excitement between different communities, leading to local violence on the streets against refugees,” UNHCR warned on Friday.