BEIRUT: Hour-long queues outside gas stations have returned to Lebanon, as supplies of cooking oil and flour in shops dwindle amid mounting fears of a food security crisis. Citizens told Arab News: “We saw on social media that a new crisis is underway. We arrived at the supermarket to find people fighting over cooking oil and flour. “We do not trust the promises made by the
BEIRUT: Subsidized food commodities are disappearing from store shelves minutes after being replenished, as people rush to stores amid talks about lifting subsidies by the end of Ramadan.
Caretaker Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni said in early April that the Lebanese Central Bank Gov. Riad Salameh informed him that “Lebanon’s mandatory reserves to fund basic imports will run out by the end of May.”
He also warned that “delays in launching a plan to reduce subsidies are costing the country $500 million a month.”
On Wednesday, a debate emerged about giving ration cards to struggling families. The card would accompany the lifting of subsidies to provide social safety.