Renewed Minister Lebanese economy Amin Salam affirmation that wheat stock It suffices for a month or a month and a half, stressing the keenness on the availability of this substance and communication with the United States and other countries, “they expressed their willingness to help us if we had to import large quantities of it.”
The Minister of Economy paused during a meeting, today, Thursday, with Prime Minister Najib Mikati, devoted to the file of food security, when the Council of Ministers agreed, last week, to grant the Directorate cereal The sugar beet in the Ministry of Economy approved the purchase of 50,000 tons of wheat from abroad to secure a reserve for an additional month to be added to the reserves that Lebanon has, presenting, in the context, the details that are being worked on with the countries that offered assistance.
After the meeting, the Minister of Economy said: “We are approaching the blessed month of Ramadan, when there will be greater consumption for foodAnd we heard regarding fears of a shortage of some foodstuffs, such as oils, sugar and others, and I held an extensive meeting in the ministry yesterday, with all concerned associations from the private sector, specifically importers, owners of supermarkets, mills, ovens, livestock dealers, poultry, dairy and cheese, and we reached an agreement that they will continue to supply us with quantities. They have and we will continue to cooperate with them so that there is no disruption in the markets.”
Salam wished the citizens that there would be no panic in their ranks, “There has been a very high turnout in the supermarket to buy large quantities of consumables for storage, and whoever buys more than he needs takes these materials in front of others, please do not panic, things are controlled and the quantities that we consume in Lebanon It is not big compared to the neighboring countries, the aid is there, the international support is there, and the work is through the government and the Ministry of Economy.”
The Minister of Economy pointed out that “our meeting today was good, and we hope that following ten days we will have a clear picture of the countries from which we will import the quantities that we have taken approval to store so that there is no interruption in wheat.”
Salam addressed the merchants and stakeholders, calling on them to be cautious during this period, “because there will never be any leniency in the matter of raising prices and any violations that may occur, and the prosecution will be greater for the issue of monopoly,” pointing out that the Ministry received information that some traders began monopolizing oil materials. Flour and sugar, brandishing this framework by resorting to the Financial Public Prosecution, moving judicially, and taking the harshest measures and penalties, because “cutting food from people is a crime.”
The raids carried out by the Ministry of Economy through its competent and concerned agencies on shops and supermarkets remain insufficient in the eyes of citizens who have seen only a timid decline in the prices of goods, which the bulk of shop owners still set at thirty thousand Lebanese pounds, in addition to the large discrepancy in prices between one supermarket and another. This shows the chaos taking place, in addition to the small quantities of goods and foodstuffs that are displayed on the shelves, indicating a systematic storage, awaiting the return of the dollar’s flight.
With regard to the wheat file, an official in the Ministry of Economy told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, “The stock in the mills is sufficient for more than a month, and it is very necessary not to create confusion among the people who will rush to buy it, so that it will run out in days.”
The official pointed out that “the situation is currently similar to extending a hand to ask for help and gifts in light of the rise in wheat prices globally and Lebanon’s tragic financial situation despite the advance that was approved.”
On the other hand, Mikati received, today, Thursday, a delegation of the unions of Lebanese farmers and exporters and representatives of the Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in all regions. The delegation submitted to President Mikati a memorandum describing the farmers’ suffering in discharging and exporting their products.
The head of the Bekaa Farmers Syndicate, Ibrahim Tarshishi, said, “We discussed with Mikati regarding two basic items that we have been calling for for a while and considered a backbone for agriculture to find a solution for them. They are the tax imposed by the Syrian authorities on Lebanese export cars only and the request to remove them, and our inability to export by land to Arab countries, Because Saudi Arabia closes the transit road in front of us, which prevents our products from reaching Arab markets, and there are regarding 1,500 freight cars parked in its land, and we cannot export our goods, and this is not permissible. Therefore, we demanded the removal of the tax and the opening of the transit route through Saudi Arabia.”
For his part, the head of the Economic Committee of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Zahle and Bekaa, Tony Tohme, said: “Food security is required today in light of the existing difficulties, and we have focused on wheat cultivation and production to ensure self-sufficiency from this material, and we have also focused on supporting agricultural exports that existed, but The export mechanism is still hampered until now.”
