On Wednesday, the Federations of Bakery Syndicate in Lebanon announced a shortage of bread if bakeries cannot secure wheat.
The statement reported that for the second week in a row, bakeries across the country are faced with a shortage of flour deliveries which has led to several ovens stopping producing bread.
The union said that there are difficulties suffered by mill owners who are waiting for Lebanon’s Central Bank (BDL) to fund imported wheat, in addition to laboratory tests of imported wheat that have been delayed for more than two weeks.
“Today, we are on the verge of a bread crisis […]. We ask those concerned how will the owners of bakeries be able to secure flour to produce bread?” the union said.
The syndicate also called on the Minister of Economy and Trade, Amin Salam, to “be directly concerned with this issue by telling people about the supply reality, especially in wheat, because bakeries will not be held responsible if they stop working.”
This holy month for both Lebanese Christians and Muslims doesn’t seem so holy. Even during times of religious fasting and events, they still struggle to secure their daily bread.
The situation has worsened since Russia’s military aggression on Ukraine on February 24th. This conflict has also impacted Lebanon since Ukraine is its main wheat supplier.
Hundreds of people in Lebanon are now suffering the consequences of war abroad, from threats to food security to them paying the ever-increasing prices of fuel and gas. That’s in addition to the hundreds of Lebanese students and nationals in Ukraine who endured hardship and walked for days on foot to reach safety.
Lebanon has been under a continuous-growing and untackled multi-crises since late 2019. Unlike most countries in the world affected by the Russian-Ukraine war, Lebanon wasn’t equipped to deal with this new hit.
