Head of Bakery Owners Syndicate in North Lebanon, Tariq al-Mir, confirmed that matters could escalate, in case situation remains as it is.
He said during a meeting at the union’s headquarters in Tripoli: “There is an urgent need for everyone to pay more attention to people’s loaves, the only substance in which negligence is considered a disregard for people’s fate.”
He pointed out that “there is a severe shortage of flour, class (85) as a result of the harsh electrical rationing that mills suffer from, in addition to not using diesel fuel, due to its high prices, and the failure of the Minister of Economy, Amin Salam, in providing the mills with their rights, which cause a shortage in the production of loaves in a large number in the North’s bakeries, which do not get a quarter of the value they were previously getting, and which in return encourages and facilitates the work of the black market.”
Mir called on the Minister of Economy to “find a solution to this problem, in terms of facilitating the work of the mills, and delivering the bakeries with the quantities issued by the Ministry of Economy,” warning against “the return of the loaf crisis and the transfer of livelihood to the black market, and this is an additional new affliction that people cannot bear.”
In addition, the union called for a general assembly to be held next week to discuss possible moves, in case matters were not resolved.