Abu Ali, the husband of minimarket owner Salam Srour helps customers as they buy groceries, in Beirut's southern suburbs, Oct. 27, 2023. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today/Illustrative photo)
BEIRUT — Following the dramatic events that occurred in the region last week, including the assassinations of Hezbollah's top military commander Fouad Shukur in the Southern suburbs of Beirut and that of Hamas' top leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, some residents in Lebanon are now thinking about whether they should stockpile food and medicine as the threat of a war looms.
After talking to local residents, L'Orient Today learned that many have already started to store medicine and food in their homes, while others plan to do so as soon as possible. Meanwhile, there are still others who haven't even considered stockpiling.
The habit of bulk shopping goes back to Lebanon’s Civil War (1975-1990) and was seen again in its most recent war with Israel in 2006, in which both wars caused food supply cut-offs, and pushed residents to rely on their own stockpiles of non-perishable foods.
Are people stockpiling?
Wissam, a resident of the Southern suburbs of Beirut, told L'Orient Today that he has been stockpiling canned food, rice, lentils, beans and medicine. However, he's confused about how much quantity he's supposed to store since no one can know how long a hypothetical war could last.
Wissam, who lives in the neighborhood that was targeted by Israel last Tuesday, said that he is "living in anxiety and having trouble sleeping" due to the current situation.
Another resident of the Southern suburbs told L'Orient Today that he seriously thought about stockpiling last Friday for the first time since the beginning of the hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel on Oct. 8.
"When I woke up today, I told my mother that we should buy food and supplies to store because if a war starts, the prices will skyrocket, and we wouldn't even be able to source these supplies."
Mario Finan, a Metn resident in his twenties, said that he hasn't started stockpiling food but will soon start as his fear has increased following the rising tensions.
Not all residents think of stockpiling though; Karim, a 25-year-old who lives with his family in the Metn district, said that despite the latest events and his rising fear, his family hasn't been stockpiling food or medicine.
Despite being scared about the situation, Marianne, a Furn al-Shubbak resident, said that she has not been bulk buying because she does not have enough space in her home to store large amounts of food, so she only buys what she needs.
Asked about whether she recommends people begin to stockpile, she said, "I don't know, I guess to each their own, but it's a bit annoying to me when I go to the supermarket and can't find rice for example because people are selling it out to stockpile; but I also don't blame them."
Meanwhile, Mohamad Ghazzawi, a resident living in Akkar, said that the situation there is different due to the district's geographical location.
"We have not been feeling an atmosphere of war as much maybe because we are in Akkar and wars had historically not been close to us, like the 2006 July war or the Civil War."
As for, Mohammad, a resident of Msaytbeh in Beirut, he has only been stockpiling his asthma medicine but not food.
"We haven't started bulk buying food because we are still in denial, we are unsure if a war will happen," he said, "I still don't feel the gravity of the situation we are in."
In a call with L'Orient Today, the President of the Lebanese Order of Pharmacists, Dr. Joe Salloum, said that residents, generally speaking, have not been stockpiling medicines.
He added that prices of medicines have not increased because of the situation and that the stock of medicines present in Lebanon can last for around five to six months in case of war.
"No need for extreme hoarding"
President of the food importers’ union, Hani Bohsali, told L'Orient Today that Lebanese supermarkets have not yet noticed any bulk buying.
He added that there is "no need for extreme hoarding because there is enough cargo and food to support us for about two to three months" if war breaks out.
Last Wednesday, caretaker Economy Minister Amin Salam stressed that there is no need to engage in unnecessary food stockpiling and panic-buying as there are "no food shortages nor any food crisis on the market today," adding that there are "enough food reserves to last for the next three to four months to come."
Bohsali also said that "it is understandable, given the situation and the bad news, for people to be taking some precautions."
When asked if he recommends stockpiling, he said he advises people to do "whatever they feel comfortable with."
Meanwhile, the President of the union of supermarket owners, Nabil Fahed, said that some people are buying a larger amount of canned goods, grains and water, but not in overwhelming quantities.
"People generally don't have an income big enough to be able to afford to store large quantities," he said.
Lebanon has been suffering from an economic crisis since 2019 largely attributed to poor governance, corruption, neglect, and the inertia of the nation's ruling class and banking sector.
Any impact on prices?
Regarding the impact of a potential war on the prices of commodities, Bohsali said that it depends on the scope of the war, "Most importantly, we hope this war does not happen because the result will be disastrous not only on the price but on everything."
Meanwhile, Fahed said that "prices are currently still the same," and that he does not expect them to change even if a war breaks out.
Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in near-daily hostilities along the Lebanese-Israeli border for months in parallel with the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza. The recent assassinations raise fear of an all-out war between both sides or a regional war as Hezbollah and Iran threatened to retaliate to the killings of Shukur and Haniyeh.