Difficulty for some families in Lebanon to prepare Ramadan Iftar
The prices of certain elementary food merchandises in Lebanon show that this Ramadan would miss items that were always taken for last year. Indeed, the price of a kilo of rice that did not surpass LBP 3,000 (two dollars based on the official exchange rate of LBP 1,515 per dollar) is currently surpasses LBP 8,000. A kilo of lentils that is named food for the poor got to LBP 15,000. While, the price of 5 liters of cooking oil was about LBP 18,000, but now it’s increase by 7 times, attaining LBP 90,000, while merchants applied the black market exchange rate of LBP 13,000 per dollar.
The American University Crisis Observatory published an index on Monday that indicated that the cost of an Iftar containing essential ingredients (a date seed, lentil soup, fattoush salad, and half a cup of milk) and a basic meal per person will cost LBP 12,050 (USD 8) or LBP 60,250 (USD 40) daily for a family include five persons, which show that the cost of Iftar is more than two and a half times (2.6) of the minimum salary per month, noting that the considered price does not include water, juices, sweets, gas, electricity and cleaning materials.
Difficulty for some families
The Observatory also showed that 42.5 percent of families in Lebanon, whose salary does not surpass LBP 1, 2 million per month (now equivalent to about USD 100) may be not able to support the minimum Ramadan meal.
According to the Observatory, and as comparison with previous years, the basic Iftar cost index indicated an increase from about LBP 450,000 per month in 2018 to LBP 467,000 in 2019 and then to almost LBP 600,000 in 2020, to increase this year.
A lady waiting her turn at the door of a supermarket said: We will rely on inexpensive and satiating foods, such as pasta, for example. She informed Asharq Al-Awsat that the budget that she allocated every year for Ramadan was the same, but it was now barely enough for rice, sugar, oil and some cereals.
Monitoring the prices
Otherwise, the Ministry of Economy increased its inspection visits to supermarkets before Ramadan, registering a large number of violations. Also, a source in the ministry informed Asharq Al-Awsat that the ministry was regularly checking prices, however; it was difficult to check 22,000 points of sale with just 77 inspectors.
Moreover, a survey led by Information International on a sample of 100 families revealed that 45 percent of respondents did not prepare Easter sweets last week, whereas; another 35 percent made the traditional maamoul at a lower cost, substituting pistachios and walnuts with dates and sugar.
