Citizens find themselves caught in the ongoing confrontation between Minister of Economy and Trade Amin Salam, who asserts that 45,000 tons of wheat are available and sufficient for a month and a half, and the mills that are not providing flour to meet market needs. On the other hand, the Union of Bakery Syndicates claims there is no flour available, demanding a reconsideration of the bread price after the rise in the costs of essential elements involved in bread production, particularly the increase in the price of a ton of diesel by $200 and sugar by $100.
To clarify the responsibility dispute, Salam revealed to "Nidaa Al-Watan" that "there is a shortcoming from the mills that are not distributing the amounts of flour they have in the market as they should, knowing that they are obligated to release it because the wheat they possess is subsidized and fully paid from public funds to secure it for bakeries for the purpose of producing Arabic bread." He announced that "legal action will be taken against the mills that do not deliver flour to bakeries next week, and patrols have already started today (yesterday) to check on their stock."
Regarding the bakeries, Salam stated: "They are not 'failing' in their role as they obtain the subsidized flour and do not use it for Arabic bread; rather, they sell it in bags as it is not subsidized and record profits without the burden of producing the costly loaf to provide it to citizens, which is unacceptable."
Salam affirmed that "the Lebanese state has fulfilled all its duties, secured the funds, ensured the continuity of wheat imports from abroad, and that shipments have arrived and funds have been opened from the Central Bank, allowing wheat to enter the markets and be delivered to the private sector." He described what the private sector is doing in this matter as "fraud, negligence, and blatant monopolization."
The issue of wheat and flour availability, and the absence of a bread crisis, was also confirmed by the head of the Mills Association, Ahmad Hattiq, to "Nidaa Al-Watan," stating: "There is no bread crisis or flour crisis today; there are amounts of wheat in most mills, but there are two mills, the first 'Baqalian' that does not have wheat and has not purchased any, and the second 'Al-Taj', which imports wheat and provides flour to three mills, has non-subsidized wheat and is awaiting the transfer of funds from the Central Bank to release the subsidized flour in the market. This affects the bakeries that benefit from those mills, but we are trying with the Minister of Economy to compensate for the gap from the remaining mills to avoid affecting the market movement," describing the bakers' outcry as "a preemptive step before a crisis occurs."
