This morning, bakeries in Nabatieh received a limited number of bread bundles, with no more than 10 bundles per store. Meanwhile, a bread bundle was sold on the black market for 35,000 Lebanese Lira.
In a dangerous precedent, Syrian families in Kfarjouz Square took more than twenty bundles of bread from a van belonging to one of the bakeries in the south, paying for them.
Citizens have resorted to purchasing pastries, cakes, and thin bread as flour has begun to run out in bakeries, despite the lifting of subsidies and the increase in the price of a bread bundle to 16,000 Lira. The head of the Union of Labor Unions and Employees in Nabatieh, Hussein Wahbi Maghrebli, warned against "tampering with the bread of the poor, workers, deprived, and marginalized." He stated, "If flour is running out as you claim, then the Central Bank should expedite payments and import wheat," emphasizing that "the government should ensure flour availability and develop a plan for resolution before it becomes a caretaker government."
He pointed out that "the prices of goods and foodstuffs have risen alarmingly following the increase in fuel prices under the pretext of the rising dollar rate, which has diminished the value of workers' and employees' salaries," demanding a "salary and wage increase as approved by the General Labor Union and daily transportation allowances for employees and municipal workers before a social explosion occurs."
Maghrebli announced his support for the bakery owners who protested today in Dourir, demanding flour provision. In a related context, flour distributors from various regions of the south held an emergency meeting at the home of the mills' representative in the south, Ali Ramal, in Dourir to discuss the new flour crisis and the Ministry of Economy's prevention of supplying flour to manakish and pastry bakeries. The meeting included a call to the director of the office of the Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri in Misil, MP Hani Qabisi, and the General Director of the Ministry of Economy, Mohammad Abu Haidar.
Ramal issued a statement on behalf of those present, announcing that "if the Ministry of Economy does not retract its decision to withhold flour supplies from manakish and pastry bakeries, we will escalate and start a real revolution as of next Tuesday when all flour quantities with us will be exhausted. We warn the mills that any flour truck leaving their gates will lead small bakeries to unload its cargo and pay for it, even if the load is to be stored in plastic tanks prepared in all regions starting today. You will witness a scenario of seizing diesel trucks repeating, and we will proceed with escalating actions."
For his part, the Vice President of the Union of Bakeries and Bakeries, Ali Ibrahim, described the bakery situation today as better than yesterday, "with a return to normal in the next two days after securing flour from mills that have subsidized wheat." He noted that the "extra" flour is not available in Lebanese markets and warned of "astronomical prices for foodstuffs relying on this type of flour if imported from abroad." Ibrahim requested the government to "maintain support for the bread loaf and develop a long-term plan to secure flour, not just for a few weeks."
