Following the spike in the exchange rate to almost 23,000 LBP per USD, the President of the Supermarket Owners Syndicate said that prices will now start increasing gradually.
In addition to that, the most recent increase in fuel prices will also affect the price tags of products, as well as the possible increase in customs fees.
For now, the prices will differ from one supermarket to the other, depending on which items were imported before and after the spike in the exchange rate.
This comes in at a time where Lebanese people have lost a major part of their purchasing power. The exchange rate has so far increased by 15 times the rate before 2019.
This has affected the fees for everything, including even bread packets, which were recently reduced in size to maintain their current price of 9,500 LBP. It used to cost 1,500 LBP.
Despite the hyperinflation in the country, the government has still not taken any steps to increase the minimum wage, which is still the same since 2019.
For that reason, people who are getting paid in LBP have so far lost most of their purchasing power, as prices keep increasing while they’re on the same salary.
Instead of increasing the minimum wage, the government is going for a cash card plan, which is supposedly going to support 500,00 families of those who are most in need.
However, that is not enough by a long shot since 78% of the population in Lebanon is now below the poverty line, according to the UN estimate. That’s about 3 million people.
A social reform strategy is currently being reviewed with international organizations in an attempt to save Lebanon from its social catastrophe and implement a social protection system for the long term.
