Fresh bread in a Beirut bakery on July 1, 2020. (Credit: AFP)
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The bakeries’ syndicate warned yesterday that the supply of wheat in Lebanon’s flour mills will not last more than 20 days. In a statement released yesterday, the Federation of Bakeries’ Syndicate noted that delays on the part of Banque du Liban in disbursing payments for wheat has led to an inability of importers to purchase it from abroad. The statement comes despite recent World Bank approval of a $150 million emergency loan to finance wheat imports, the particulars of which have not been legislated in Lebanon's new Parliament, which was sworn in on Tuesday. In its last session before entering caretaker status, Lebanon’s cabinet similarly allocated $15 million in International Monetary Fund Special Drawing Rights to temporarily avert bread shortages, but this decision has not yet been implemented, according to the syndicate’s statement.
The Tourism Ministry yesterday authorized bars and registrants to dollarize their prices for the summer. The move will allow tourism establishments to make the shift to USD pricing “exceptionally and optionally” for the period between June 2 and Sept. 30, the height of the summer season in Lebanon. The Tourism Ministry said that it made the decision due to the extreme volatility in the parallel currency market, which has been wildly fluctuating since elections drew to a close on May 15th. The ministry added that all establishments should abide by market prices taking into “consideration the purchasing power of customers.” Speaking to L’Orient Today, Tourism Minister Walid Nassar said that bills can be covered in the local currency but that it would be up to the restaurant or mall to set the lira price. Last week, the Lebanese lira reached an all-time low of almost LL38,000 to the US dollar, before rebounding briefly and then dipping again. As of this morning, the lira was trading at LL28,200 to $1.
Parliament is set to elect new members of committees in a session next Tuesday. The session was called for by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri yesterday, and will take place at 11:00 a.m. This comes a week after Berri was re-elected to the Parliament speakership for a seventh time last Tuesday, but with significantly fewer votes than years prior at just 65. Tuesday also saw the election of a new deputy speaker, Elias Bou Saab of the Free Patriotic Movement. Yesterday, the names of the newly elected MPs, as well as finalized parliamentary blocs and those MPs who will remain independent, were sent to President Michael Aoun ahead of consultations over the selection of a new Prime Minister. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Tuesday that he is reluctant to return to his post, and that the task of forming a new government will be “difficult.”
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: “The ‘gray’ MPs who hold the keys to the majority”