Woman making Mana'ish in Lebanon, June 21, 2020 (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
The head of the Syndicate of Bakery Owners in Saida and the South, Zakaria al-Arabi, on Friday, called on the caretaker Economy Minister and the ministers and representatives of the South to "work to increase the share of subsidized flour for bakeries in the South and Western Bekaa," the state-run National News Agency reported.
In a statement, al-Arabi explained that the "quantities of bread allocated to bakeries in these areas as a whole are insufficient to meet the rising demand for bread." He added that this shortfall is exacerbated by the ongoing and intensifying Israeli attacks, which have displaced many people to major cities like Saida, as well as the need of Palestinian camp inhabitants for this essential resource.
He said that "the total amount of subsidized flour delivered to the bakeries of the South and Western Bekaa monthly has decreased to less than half, while the actual need is twice the amount in light of the current reality."
Al-Arabi warned that "there is no reserve stock of flour at the bakeries of Saida and the South, and therefore, in this case, we will be facing an actual bread crisis, if God forbid, the war expands."
This comes after the caretaker Economy Minister, Amin Salam, sought on Thursday to reassure the public about food security, stating that Lebanon has enough stocks for the next five months.
The minister, who highlighted that Lebanon imports 90 percent of its food needs, said he had instructed that the distribution of food be carried out equitably across regions — especially to those with internally displaced persons due to the ongoing conflict in southern Lebanon.
Salam also pledged to expand the security cell created to manage the monopoly on wheat storage to include all commodities. This effort aims to combat the parallel market, which constitutes more than 50 percent of the legal market.
