The long queues outside of bakeries are seen across Lebanon after the announcement of a shortage of wheat to produce bread.
Last week, the Federations of Bakery Syndicate in Lebanon announced a shortage of bread if bakeries can’t secure wheat.
On Tuesday, it was reported that the Lebanese government agreed to disburse $15 million to temporarily resolve the bread shortage.
However, the Economic Minister, Amin Salam, told Reuters that the funds will only last a few weeks.
“This will give us a period of about two to three weeks before we need to open another credit line, which we had requested at $21 million,” Salam added.
He said that the government will not lift bread subsidies, but is seeking to secure a $150 million agreement with the World Bank, “because, in the future, we won’t be able to subsidize anything, much less bread.”
In addition to being affected by a catastrophic economic crisis, a global pandemic, and the deadly Beirut blast, Lebanon is now enduring the consequences of a faraway war on Ukraine.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Lebanon has been facing a food and fuel crisis, as well as sharp increases in food prices.
