Director General of Cereals and Sugar Beets Directorate at the Ministry of Economy and Trade, Gerges Barbari, affirmed that “they are working to reach an agreement between all concerned parties in order to unify the price of a bundle of bread,” hoping “to reduce the dollar to 28,000 LBP, whereupon a solution will be reached.”

In a radio interview, he said, “Our role will be consensual between all parties and to resolve the dispute over the weight of the bundle of bread.”

Barbari said: “Wheat is imported in dollars and subsidies are no longer big, but we demand accountability as a result of the discrepancy in the price of a bundle of bread,” stressing “the importance of unifying the price of the bundle, especially white bread.”

He concluded: “The wheat is available, but we the reserve is dwindling rapidly, so the citizen feels that he is in a crisis.”

He said: “Smuggling must also be controlled and halted, and there is shortage of wheat in the Bekaa mills, that’s why it is sold on the black market.”