Lebanon's caretaker Economy MInister Amin Salam. (Credit: National News Agency)
BEIRUT — Caretaker Economy Minister Amin Salam said Thursday morning that “progress” should be made in the next two days on bread shortages.
Here’s what we know:
• For several weeks, queues have formed in front of bakeries across Lebanon, with fights being regularly reported. Some businesses have reportedly engaged in smuggling and selling packages of bread on the black market at prices much higher than official rates.
• “Progress is expected in the next two days," Salam said in an interview with LBCI on Thursday.
• On Wednesday, the minister had denied to L'Orient-Le Jour any information concerning the lifting of subsidies on flour and wheat. He also assured that 50,000 tons of wheat will be arriving in Lebanon soon, although he had also mentioned this two weeks ago at a press conference.
• Salam announced Friday that a committee made up of judicial, security and managerial personnel has been formed to police bread production at bakeries and make sure subsidized wheat is being evenly distributed among bakeries and mills and used exclusively for the production of Arabic bread. Although the minister did not clarify how this would be implemented practically across bakeries in Lebanon.
• Parliament approved a World Bank loan of $150 million Tuesday for Lebanon to finance wheat imports. The loan was approved by the World Bank on May 6 and was made to “finance immediate wheat imports to avoid the disruption in supply over the short-term and help secure affordable bread for poor and vulnerable households,” a World Bank spokesperson told L’Orient Today.