Ovens Intensify... Will They Stop Working?

The president of the Union of Arab Bakeries and Bread Ovens in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, Nasser Sirour, announced that "ovens are heading towards stopping operations in showrooms and distribution to stores and supermarkets if Minister of Economy Amin Salam does not issue a pricing scheme that aligns with the skyrocketing dollar exchange rate, which has exceeded fifty thousand lira in the black market." Sirour demanded "to give bakery workers their rights in the new pricing of the bread bundle in order for them to continue production and work." He wished for "the political parties and leaders, and those concerned for the people, to work on electing a president and forming a government to put an end to the crisis that is sweeping the country and depriving it of the minimum means to live in dignity." Regarding the looming flour crisis, he stated: "The matter is now in the hands of the World Bank; if any disruption occurs, we will witness a real crisis because there are leaks from the mills that do not bode well. Any disruption or crisis that happens is primarily the responsibility of those who have failed to issue the financial card and have boasted about the World Bank loan while managing the crisis and continue to manage the milling and baking files."