The bread loaf in Lebanon is heading towards a new wave of high prices, driven by rapid jumps in the costs of fuel, wheat, flour and raw materials, amid official warnings of the difficulty of protecting the price of the loaf in light of the continuation of these upward indicators.
In this context, the head of the Federation of Ovens and Bakeries Syndicates, Nasser Sorour, confirmed that the rise in the prices of materials used in the manufacture of bread “will inevitably lead to an increase in the price of a bundle of bread,” explaining that the pricing platform approved in agreement with the Ministry of Economy calculates the cost based on the movement of prices of raw materials and the exchange rate.
Sorour revealed that a bundle of bread was priced last week at $1,430 per ton of diesel, before the price recorded a new jump on Friday to reach $1,500, without the additional increases in the prices of wheat, flour, and other materials being fully calculated yet.
Sorour described the current increases in production costs as “insane,” stressing that the sector can no longer bear or ignore them, and at the same time the citizen cannot be held responsible for its consequences alone.
He pointed out that the only solution available to break this cycle is to provide direct government support for the loaf, adding that this option seems “almost impossible” in light of the current financial circumstances, unless countries friendly to Lebanon intervene to provide donations of wheat or flour that reduce the cost of production.
Sorour warned that the continuation of conflicts and disruptions to energy, transportation, and grain routes may push prices to new record levels, calling for urgent action “before protecting the loaf becomes extremely difficult.”
He concluded by expressing his hope that the prices of energy, wheat, and raw materials will decline and stability will return to the markets, allowing the price of a loaf of bread to be reduced to become accessible to citizens, at a time when pricing remains subject to direct fluctuations in the cost of production unless preventive measures are taken to protect the consumer.
