International reporting
In Lebanon, the specter of food insecurity
Audio 02:23
A Lebanese boy packs freshly baked breads as customers line up outside the bakery in the southern coastal city of Sidon on August 13, 2021. The state subsidizes bread in Lebanon.
AFP - MAHMOUD ZAYYAT
By: Nicolas Falez Follow
2 mins
The war in Ukraine threatens the food security of many importing countries.
Lebanon is an example: 80% of its wheat comes from Ukraine and 15% from Russia.
And this while the country has been sinking for several years in a historic economic and financial crisis.
Report.
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From our special correspondent,
The breads come out of the bakery located at the back of the bakery.
Wisely aligned on a conveyor belt, they arrive continuously in the shop where these traditional Lebanese breads, round and flat, are packaged in batches of seven.
Jean Nohra estimates that he produces 3,000 of these packages of bread each day.
He is the boss of this bakery in the Bekaa plain, in northeastern Lebanon, where he employs 25 people.
“
Since the Ukrainian crisis, they have started to reduce the quantity of flour for us.
It's halved.
And it continues to decline.
»
The Lebanese government controls the use of imported wheat.
A quota is reserved for industrial mills, but flour is becoming a little rarer and Jean the baker is struggling to find other suppliers.
He also watches for announcements on Wednesdays since the bread is subsidized and its price is set by the government.
The bread pack has already increased to 11,000 pounds.
This staple food remains accessible in a country facing hyper-inflation and devaluation, but for how long?
Antoine Seif owns an industrial bakery in the Mont-Liban region.
He believes that the government is not acting enough and not fast enough.
“
Most of our wheat consumption comes from Ukraine.
Knowing this, why hasn't the government already found other markets for our imports?
He could have done it for a month and so far he hasn't signed any contract.
There is no strategy.
»
Fear of a food crisis
The Lebanese government assures the opposite, exploring possible new contracts, with India in particular.
The Lebanese Minister of Economy, Amin Salam, receives us in his office.
He does not deny the problem.
“
Lebanon is one of the vulnerable countries in terms of food security.
We see that the products exist: many supplier countries tell us that they have wheat, sugar, oil, etc.
But prices are skyrocketing: 40, 60, sometimes even 100%.
It is the result of an accumulation of challenges: first the Covid and now the war in Ukraine.
»
Amin Salam believes that the situation, uncertain today, could become problematic in less than six months.
The Minister of the Economy calls on the international community to support Lebanon, which will have to face an inevitable price spike without the financial capacity to cushion a new shock, in a country which is experiencing an economic and financial crisis "
one of the serious since the 19th century,
” according to the World Bank.
►
Also to listen: Lebanon: how do you live in a country in crisis?
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