The collapse of the Lebanese pound exchange rate threatens to change the way of life of the Lebanese people

Written by Paula Astih in “Middle East”

The Lebanese have not yet recovered from the impact of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations “FAO” and the World Food Program which lists Lebanon among the 4 countries in the world threatened by food insecurity for a part of its population, and warns them of the possibility that the economic crisis will lead to an increase in the level of unrest and acts of violence. Although the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) had issued similar warnings in the summer of 2020, warning that half of the Lebanese population might not be able to meet their basic food needs, the powers concerned did not take no significant measure. The measures at that time to prevent access to the scenario that has been transformed Today is a fait accompli, as a result of the dollar exchange rate registering record levels in recent days against the Lebanese pound.

Most department store shelves lack the products Lebanese are used to and, while available, they are at fantastic prices that exceed the very limited financial capabilities of the vast majority. However, according to experts, about 60 percent of Lebanese, which is the proportion of poor in the country now, according to the Ministry of Social Affairs, will not even be able to buy new goods that are imported from countries that importers. They are not used to it, given its low cost, in case the collapse continues The exchange rate of the lira, which means a clear threat to their food security.
The head of the Food Importers Union, Hani Bohsali, talks about 3 dimensions of food security, which are food availability, access to food and food security. In his opinion, all three dimensions are threatened by the fact that “the possibility of importing, on which Lebanon is 85 percent dependent, or manufacturing locally, is very limited, as is the possibility of access to food, for so we import less quantities due to our lack of dollars, and most Lebanese are now able to buy products due to their prices, to be sure. “Foods that also seem threatened. Require their specifications to be strictly controlled and conform to international conditions, and most importantly, not to be adulterated, smuggled or counterfeited. “
Bohsali indicated in a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat that “if there is a majority threatened by hunger, then there is a part of the Lebanese people who will lack the lifestyle to which they are accustomed, so they will not be able to find global goods again. . to which they are accustomed “. This is also indicated by Hassan Ezz El-Din, a member of the Shop Syndicate in Lebanon, noting that new products are currently being used to replace the global ones the Lebanese are used to, saying “Asharq Al-Awsat”. : “For example, many types of chocolate have been replaced by homemade products. We have also opened to markets that we did not call before, such as Poland and Ukraine, to maintain a certain diversity in the articles …. In the end, the goods whose demand will decrease, especially due to the large increase in their price, may successively disappear from the shelves, so that at some point we can go to sell smaller packages than the Lebanese are used to, since there may be a large part of them who cannot afford the large containers. Ezz El-Din points out that the most important staples, missing or in short supply, are oil and milk, explaining that there is a solution to the oil crisis after the Ministry of Economy agreed to subsidize imported oil from Ukraine, and the The milk crisis is in the process of being resolved. It talks about 4 main reasons that threaten food security, which are the collapse of the type d e change of the lira, the policy of subsidies in its current form, the continuous smuggling of goods and the most important imbalance in the supply chain, whether due to excessive inflation and bankruptcies, as well as the delay in payment to importers in the framework of the subsidy policy, as well as the decisions to close stores and supermarkets in a confrontational framework. Corona ”, and it is a measure that no country in the world has taken so that everyone is aware of the danger of alteration of the supply chain, which is based on basic loops: production, delivery and sale of the product to the final consumer, and therefore In the event of a defect in one of the links, the chain as a whole suffers a defect.
Ezz El-Din and Hosali agree that addressing the looming reality of food security will be by rapidly forming an effective government and injecting dollars into the Lebanese market to achieve a kind of financial and economic stability. Bohsali highlights the importance of making critical decisions, whether to stop smuggling, as well as to stop subsidies in their current form despite the difficulty of making a similar decision, noting that it is necessary to rush to issue financing cards to hundreds of people in need, especially because as long as the exchange rate is flying, commodity prices will remain high.

The Lebanese have not yet recovered from the impact of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations “FAO” and the World Food Program which list Lebanon among the 4 countries in the world threatened by food insecurity for a part of their population and warn them of the possibility that the economic crisis will lead to an increase in the level of unrest and acts of violence. Although the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) had issued similar warnings in the summer of 2020, warning that half of the Lebanese population might not be able to meet their basic food needs, the powers concerned did not take no significant measure. Measures at that time to prevent access to the scenario that has been transformed Today is a fait accompli, as a result of the price of the dollar in recent days, registering record levels against the Lebanese pound.

Most department store shelves lack the products Lebanese are used to and, while available, they are at fantastic prices that exceed the very limited financial capabilities of the vast majority. However, according to experts, about 60 percent of Lebanese, which is the proportion of poor in the country now, according to the Ministry of Social Affairs, will not even be able to buy new goods that are imported from countries that importers are not. accustomed, given its low cost, in case the collapse continues The exchange rate of the lira, which means a clear threat to their food security.
The head of the Food Importers Union, Hani Bohsali, talks about the 3 dimensions of food security, which are food availability, access to food and food security. In his opinion, all three dimensions are threatened by the fact that “the possibility of importing, on which Lebanon 85 percent depends, or of manufacturing locally, is very limited, as is the possibility of access to food, for so we import less quantities due to our lack of dollars, and most Lebanese are now able to buy products due to their prices, to be sure. “Foods that also seem threatened. Require their specifications to be strictly controlled and conform to international conditions and, most importantly, not be adulterated, smuggled or counterfeited. “
Bohsali indicated in a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat that “if there is a majority threatened by hunger, then there is a part of the Lebanese people who will lack the lifestyle to which they are accustomed, so they will not be able to find global goods again. . to which they are accustomed “. This is also indicated by Hassan Ezz El-Din, a member of the Syndicate of Shops in Lebanon, noting that new products are currently being used to replace the global ones that the Lebanese are used to, saying to “Asharq Al-Awsat”. : “For example, many types of chocolate have been replaced by homemade products. We have also opened ourselves to markets that we did not touch before, such as Poland and Ukraine, so that we can maintain a certain diversity in the articles … In the end, the goods whose Demand will drop, especially due to the large increase in their price, they may later disappear from the shelves, so that at some point we can go to sell smaller packages than those that the Lebanese are used to, as it is possible that a large part of them cannot afford the large containers. Ezz El-Din points out that the most important staples, missing or in short supply, are oil and milk, explaining that there is a solution to the oil crisis after the Ministry of Economy agreed to subsidize imported oil from Ukraine, and the The milk crisis is in the process of being resolved. It talks about 4 main reasons that threaten food security, which are the collapse of the type of ca lira change, the subsidy policy in its current form, the continued smuggling of goods and the most significant imbalance in the supply chain, be it due to excessive inflation and bankruptcies, as well as late payment to importers in the framework of the subsidy policy, as well as the decisions to close stores and supermarkets in a confrontational framework. Corona ”, and it is a measure that no country in the world has taken, so that everyone is aware of the danger of altering the supply chain that is based on basic links: production, delivery and sale of the product to the final consumer, and therefore in In the event of a defect in any of the links, the chain as a whole suffers a defect.
Ezz El-Din and Hosali agree that addressing the looming reality of food security will be by rapidly forming an effective government and injecting dollars into the Lebanese market to achieve a kind of financial and economic stability. Bohsali highlights the importance of making critical decisions, whether to stop smuggling, as well as to stop subsidies in their current form despite the difficulty of making a similar decision, noting that it is necessary to rush to issue financing cards to hundreds of people in need, especially because as long as the exchange rate is flying, commodity prices will remain high.