A pharmacy in Beirut, Lebanon. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — The Pharmacists Syndicate announced on Tuesday that it is calling on all pharmacies in Lebanon to close immediately, as the Lebanese lira continued its free fall against the US dollar on the parallel market, trading close to LL140,000 before recovering to LL132,000.
Gas stations are also moving towards pricing in dollars, thus overriding the official daily rate of the Ministry of Energy.
In a statement issued Tuesday by the head of the Pharmacists Syndicate, Joe Salloum said the syndicate "calls on pharmacies to close now until the drugs are delivered again, regardless of the formula or modality decided by officials."
The statement justified the decision by pointing to "the current collapse that is occurring, to the indifference of officials and in view of the almost total halt of drug deliveries to pharmacies by companies for over two weeks."
Contacted about the risk of closing gas stations, the spokesman for the union of gas station owners, Georges Brax, did not immediately respond to confirm.
But two sources in the sector confirmed to L'Orient-Le Jour that a meeting is underway and that gas station owners are moving towards adopting payment in dollars, or its equivalent at the most recent parallel market rate, regardless of the daily tariffs posted by the Ministry of Energy.
The Lebanese national currency has depreciated by more than 98 percent over the last three years, compared to the former official rate of LL1,500 to the dollar.
Meanwhile, Lebanon remains without a president nor a fully-empowered government while the authorities continue to stall the adoption of the reforms needed to mitigate the country's financial collapse.