With land borders with Israel and Syria, the port of Beirut was one of the few ways for Lebanon to bring in goods, and concerns are now growing that the country will not be able to bring in enough food and medicine. Much of the aid that goes to the country's approximately two million Syrian refugees, on which the Lebanese population is also becoming increasingly dependent, was also carried through the port.

Around Beirut, people have been queuing up in recent months to get the essentials.

Lack of foreign currency

Lebanon has a shortage of foreign currency and has difficulty importing important goods such as food and medicine. Some of the reserves the country has are stored in the port. But there are now not many of them left. In pictures from the port area, cylindrical containers can be seen split in half. They contained 15,000 tonnes of wheat, three quarters of Lebanon's stockpiles were destroyed by the explosions and could no longer be eaten.

Lebanon's grain reserves are now enough for another month, according to the country's Minister of Economy and Trade Raoul Nehme. Bread is the cheapest calorie available in Lebanon, where now more than half of the population has difficulty obtaining money for food.

The port served as a last resort for Lebanon's wounded economy. Although corruption is high, customs revenues and taxes from the port are one of the state's few sources of income. 

"The state is almost bankrupt"

It is estimated that it will take years before it can be rebuilt and the construction is expected to cost five billion dollars with the lowest estimates. It is money that Lebanon does not have. The country is going through its worst economic crisis in modern history and the state is almost bankrupt.

The country's second largest port is located in Tripoli, 80 km north. As Lebanon's main trading center is now in ruins, it will be used instead, announced Transport Minister Michel Najjar. In recent years, China has invested in the port of Tripoli, but its capacity does not come close to that of the port of Beirut before it was destroyed by the explosions.

Around 80 percent of all goods that came to Lebanon were imported via the port of Beirut and large investments are required for Tripoli to be able to receive such cargoes.