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The head of the Lebanese Poultry Union, Eng. Moussa Fariji, considered in a statement that the government, in its maneuver to reduce the cost of living, has resorted, since July 2020, to subsidizing the value of imported consumer items such as rice , lentils, chickpeas and red meat. It also supported the basic needs used in the production of milk, poultry and table eggs that are produced locally, as well as corn and soybeans, dairy cattle feed and fattening. The value of the grant was limited to the exchange rate of 3,900 Lebanese pounds.
He indicated that two measures have been taken to organize this support process:
1. The Ministry of Agriculture has registered all farmers in all provinces and districts and has provided them with identification certificates for their monthly need for the mentioned materials so that they can buy them from the merchants who import these materials at the subsidized price.
2. The Ministry of Economy has also required importers to submit a list of farmers who have purchased the subsidized materials in preparation for granting them a new permit to support new imports.
Later, the Ministries of Economy and Agriculture issued regulations for the sale prices of consumer products to consumers based on the support of the mentioned production requirements.
The policy of imposing consumer prices failed except to a minimum, as few producers adhered to it, while the vast majority of them persisted in selling their products at the best price offered by wholesalers or by slaughterhouse or factory owners. This happened because the supply and demand base prevailed and because the supply was less than the demand.
In vain, we try to explain the justifications for the failure of the policy to impose a specific price on products that go through the stages of production, transfer and packaging, and there is little time between the use of production requirements until they reach the consumer, unlike the subsidized products that reach the consumer as they have reached Lebanon, such as medicines, rice, lentils, chickpeas, infant milk, fuel and many more.
He stressed that “in all cases, the beneficiary of the subsidy is the consumer and not the producer, especially in the absence of a monopoly. The subsidy reduces the cost of the subsidized material as it is mitigated by low international prices from time to time. when. As for the producers, these production requirements deal equally with each other. ” The decrease or increase in their prices, due to the volatility of their world prices or due to their subsidies, is reflected in the cost of the final product offered to the consumer.
He considered that “the consideration of the ministries of economy and agriculture that the subsidies should lead to an immediate and automatic reduction in the prices of consumables is a wrong consideration.
– The subsidized materials are proportional and are transformed into real production that reaches the markets from table eggs to locally produced poultry, milk and red meat.
Allowing supply to meet or even exceed demand, and not imposing specific prices on consumers.
Then, and only then, will the reduction in the value of the subsidized products, their production needs, materialize to consumers without any interference from the two ministries.
He concluded: “It would be good for the ministries of economy and agriculture to understand this basic economic rule and encourage investors to invest in productive sectors without putting any obstacles in their way. At the forefront of the encouragement measures is the protection of products that could be produced in Lebanon, customs protection and the cessation of import permits for such products. The time has come for successive governments to help adopt practical measures that transfer Lebanon from a rentier country to a productive country.
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