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Ahram Online
“The World Bank approved a $150 Million food security soft loan to stabilise prices in Lebanon in the coming months”, the Lebanese Economy Minister Amin Salam revealed on Monday.
Salam told reporters that “the loan features a very low-interest rate”, but he did not specify the rate. He used the term “soft loan” indicating a below-market rate of interest. The loan will provide great relief through the stability of bread prices in the country during the historic economic meltdown.
Locals are concerned that the government might lift wheat subsidies as foreign currency reserves drop to critical levels at the central bank. Lifting subsidies would sharply increase the price of bread. It will directly affect over three-quarters of the country’s 6 million people, including 1 million Syrian refugees who now live in poverty.
“The government does not have immediate plans to lift bread subsidies, especially for the flour used in making flat Arabic bread, the main staple in Lebanon”, Salam said last month.
Lebanon is in the grip of a devastating economic crisis, which was described by the World Bank as one of the worst in modern history. The country imports most of its wheat and has been facing shortages over the past weeks, due to the war in Ukraine.
