First Shipment of 33,000 tons of Wheat Helps Rebuild Lebanon’s Stock and Ensure Access to Affordable Bread

First Shipment of 33,000 tons of Wheat Helps Rebuild Lebanon’s Stock and Ensure Access to Affordable Bread

NNA - A first shipment of 33,000 tons of wheat, financed under the Lebanon Wheat Supply Emergency Project, has arrived at the Port of Beirut and started being discharged. The shipment -equivalent to about one month-worth of Arabic bread consumption in the country- will help rebuild Lebanon’s wheat stock and secure affordable bread for poor and vulnerable households. This first shipment will be followed by several additional shipments of varying sizes over the following months, to ensure continuity of wheat supply and maintain access to affordable bread throughout the lifespan of the project.

Approved in May 2022, in response to the global market disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine, the US$150 million project aims to ensure the availability of wheat in Lebanon. Lebanon imports nearly 80% of the wheat it consumes, and, historically, the quasi totality of these imports have come from Ukraine and Russia (respectively 80% and 16% in 2020). The war in Ukraine came at a time when Lebanon had been grappling with an acute economic and financial crisis, an increase in unemployment, a rise in poverty and vulnerability and a surge in inflation, particularly food inflation, which primarily affects poorer households among host communities and refugees. These negative macroeconomic