Most of Baalbek’s butcher shops sealed their doors on Saturday after they didn’t receive subsidized cows and sheep, while some shops selling unsubsidized meat at a price of 120,000 LBP for 1 kg of sheep meat and 70,000 LBP for 1 kg of cow meat remained open.

“A small portion of subsidized meat arrived in Baalbek over the past period, and cows were delivered to a limited number of butchers on a discretionary basis,” Ali Sobhi Awada, head of the butchers’ syndicate in the Bekaa said.

“All of Baalbek’s butcher shops haven’t received any subsidized meat since several days, forcing them to close their doors,” Awada said, noting that in the meantime, subsidized livestock are being smuggled abroad and the Lebanese people are being deprived from them in this holy month.

“We call on the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Abbas Mortada, the Minister of Economy and Trade, Raoul Nehme, and the General Director, Mohammed Abu Haidar, to be fair with regard to the city of Baalbek which has a population of around 150,000, in terms of distributing subsidized meat,” Awada said.

He also urged Speaker Nabih Berri to intervene in order to settle this crisis as happened in the southern city of Tyre because “families are living very tough conditions and people are unable to buy unsubsidized meat.”