Lebanese people are sharing their restaurant and supermarket bills on social media these days along with their outrage: The prices are insane!
They have also been snapping pictures of products’ prices at supermarkets in Lebanon to show how tough the living conditions have become.
Prices are shooting up quickly and to such absurdity that baby milk now costs between 40,000 and 80,000 LL. That is after Nestle announced that it’ll now be charging 4,000LL per $1 in Lebanon.
People are also comparing bills from the same supermarkets and consisting of the same products, but with a few days between one purchase and another.
One shows that the price of FETA cheese was 4,795LL on 29-04-2020, and a couple of days later the cost went up to 9,250LL.
These rocketing prices have even reached a place where the foods that have always been considered ‘poor or middle-class foods’ in Lebanon, now, as some citizens pointed out, you need a loan to pay for them.
When people can’t pay for meat, they turn to cereals and dairy. Well, even these are out of reach at the present.
And that is not all. The days of 1,000LL Man2ouch Zaatar and 2,000LL Man2ouch Cheese are long gone. Now, when you crave a ‘Man2ouchet Jebneh Mashrouha’, you’ll need to save up to have this luxury.
This bill shows that the consumer paid 4,000LL for a Man2ouch Zaatar, 7,500LL for a Man2ouch Cheese, 6,500LL for a Man2ouch Kechek, and 3,000 LL for a small plate of vegetables.
So, if Lebanese families can’t buy meat or grains or dairy or vegetables or even a Man2oushe, what are they supposed to eat?
Even a well-off person can’t keep up with these crazy prices, so what about the families who are below the poverty line, and which number is not insignificant?
Whatever happened to the consumer protection in Lebanon, price control, and tourist police? This situation demands the government’s immediate attention and effective intervention.