Bread Crisis Looms in Lebanon Amid Rising Fuel Costs

Lebanese bakery unions have sounded an alarm about a looming bread crisis in Lebanon. The Union of Bakery Unions in Lebanon issued a statement warning that rising costs for wheat, flour, fuel, and energy threaten the nation's bread supply, especially for vulnerable populations. According to the union, the government has inherited a financially collapsed country, exacerbated by the war since October 7, which has left heavy burdens on the south, suburbs, and Beqaa region.

The union pointed out that global increases in oil and fuel prices are impacting the cost of producing bread, as well as disruptions in major shipping routes such as the Black Sea and the Strait of Hormuz. The Beirut port explosion also destroyed grain silos, and the union has been calling for their reconstruction to secure a strategic reserve.

The union emphasized that neither poor citizens nor bakeries can indefinitely bear these price gaps, stating that Lebanon faces 'a military, security, economic, and social war.' It called on the government to declare an economic and social state of emergency to protect bread and the poorest groups.