With bread prices skyrocketing, Lebanon waits for crucial wheat imports and international aide

With bread prices skyrocketing, Lebanon waits for crucial wheat imports and international aide

With Lebanon already facing its biggest economic crisis ever, the impact of Russia's war in Ukraine has exacerbated dire living conditions for the Mediterranean nation of nearly 7 million. and all of its fuel, and over Since the start of the war, the Kremlin's blockade on Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea has sent . Last week, the two sides signed an agreement, backed by the U.N., aiming to restart grain exports in the region. However, Russia's attack on Ukraine's port city of Odesa, less than 24 hours after the agreement was signed, has thrown the deal's legitimacy into question, and sent wheat prices higher. If the deal is successfully executed, crucial grain exports will transit through a sea corridor in the Black Sea, potentially providing relief from a growing food crisis across the globe. The Lebanon Crisis Analytics Team at Mercy Corps told CNBC Monday that the price of wheat flour has risen 209% since the start of Russia's onslaught in Ukraine, and 330% since the 2019 economic crisis began. Food and beverage inflation on an annual basis surged to 332% in June, and the wider inflation figure rose to 210% in the same month, according to .