Beirut, Dec. 7, 2022 (Xinhua) — Lebanese Economy Minister Amin Salam announced today (Wednesday) that the implementation of the emergency response project to secure grain supplies, according to a World Bank loan, will begin in beginning of next year with the importation of the first shipments.
This was stated by Salam after the meeting of the Ministerial Committee for Food Security chaired by Prime Minister Najib Mikati and in the presence of the ministers of defence, finance, industry, interior and agriculture.
Salam stressed that the government will maintain permanent stability for one year according to international wheat prices, partially subsidizing the price of bread and wheat.
He explained that the commission discussed the mechanism for distributing wheat and flour in the required quantities, underlining that the quantities are available on the market in cooperation with the Interior Ministry and the security services.
The Ministry of Economy had raised bread prices several times over the past year at a time when the country was experiencing an unprecedented shortage of bread, especially after the disruption of grain supplies following the crisis between Russia and Ukraine , since Lebanon relies on these two countries to guarantee 80% of its grain needs estimated at 650,000 tons per year.
Last July, the Lebanese parliament approved a loan deal from the World Bank in the amount of US$150 million to implement the emergency response project to secure grain supplies.
Lebanon’s capacity to store grain has diminished after grain silos in the port of Beirut ruptured and parts of it collapsed in a port explosion in 2020, killing more than 200 people and injuring more than 6,000. , as well as severe damage to more than 50 thousand housing units and thousands of institutions. Private and public investments have been estimated at between 10 and 15 billion dollars.
