Gradually, dollar pricing has come into effect in supermarkets and mini-markets. In one small shop, you can notice that some goods are priced in dollars while others are not. When you ask, the seller responds that new merchandise is priced in dollars, while for older products, they refer to the list sent to them on WhatsApp to determine the price, either in dollars or in Lebanese pounds according to the black market rate. Thus, you wait for a few minutes before the seller sets the final amount for your bill, allowing you to choose to pay either in dollars or in Lebanese pounds based on the exchange rate of the dollar.
In supermarkets, the dollar takes precedence over the Lebanese pound, and the majority of the sector is prepared to forgo the Lebanese pound starting Wednesday, while others are still preparing to transition to dollar pricing, as confirmed by the Head of the Supermarkets Owners Association, Nabil Fahd, to "Al-Markaziah." He indicated that the sector is awaiting the official, written, and signed decision from the Minister of Economy, Amin Salam, to move towards dollarization. "What matters to us is for the decision to be issued on Wednesday, at the start of the month, to coincide with the initiation of dollar pricing," Fahd stated.
The pricing mechanism will be based on the price determined by the supplier. Fahd noted in this context: "We have tens of thousands of items, of various types, both food and non-food, each priced according to its category and based on the price we purchase it at, and on this basis, supermarkets price in dollars." He clarified some details concerning the prices of items that the supermarket buys in dollars and sells in the same currency, while items purchased in Lebanese pounds, such as bread, vegetables, and fruits, will remain priced in Lebanese pounds. Additionally, there are some items that will keep their price in Lebanese pounds according to the manufacturers' preferences, allowing the consumer to pay the bill according to what suits them.
