Lebanon Rationalizes Subsidized Food Basket

Customers shop at a supermarket in Beirut, Lebanon January 24, 2020. (Reuters)
Customers shop at a supermarket in Beirut, Lebanon January 24, 2020. (Reuters)
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Lebanon Rationalizes Subsidized Food Basket

Customers shop at a supermarket in Beirut, Lebanon January 24, 2020. (Reuters)
Customers shop at a supermarket in Beirut, Lebanon January 24, 2020. (Reuters)

Lebanon’s Ministry of Economy announced it would rationalize the food basket by reducing the number of subsidized commodities by 55 to 60 percent, which means reducing its cost from USD 210 million a month to less than USD 100 million.

According to the ministry, the step would contribute to prolonging the period of support for additional months, especially with the diminishing reserves of the Central Bank in foreign currencies.

“Theoretically, the rationing of subsidies should affect the citizen directly, but in practice the situation will remain the same,” said a grocery store owner in Beirut.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that subsidized goods were not originally present in the market in sufficient quantities, so people in most cases bought the goods at an unsubsidized pricing based on the dollar exchange rate on the black market.

“The difference between the subsidized and unsubsidized commodity was not large, and in most cases it did not exceed LBP 2,000 ($1.33 according to the official exchange rate and approximately 20 cents on the dollar price in the black market),” a Beirut resident told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The Ministry of Economy had launched the so-called subsidized food basket last July, with the aim of curbing the rise of prices amid a scarcity of foreign currencies that Lebanon needs for its imports.

The basket included - before rationalization - 30 basic foodstuffs, in addition to 270 commodities classified as raw materials used in manufacturing.

Since its launch, the food basket was widely criticized, especially as it did not help to reducing commodity prices, as repeatedly shown by the price index.

Last week, the ministry referred two companies to the Public Prosecution Office, as their subsidized products were seen on the shelves of supermarkets outside Lebanon, which raised concern about illegal smuggling.

“The smuggling of subsidized goods and selling them abroad brings big profits in fresh dollars to the merchants,” said Zuhair Berro, the head of the Consumer Protection Association.

“Smuggling is not the only way of manipulation,” he added, noting that some merchants “store the subsidized goods to later sell them when the subsidies are lifted, so they make enormous illegal profits.”



Influential Far-right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu over Gaza War Policy

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, also attended by Argentine President Javier Milei (not pictured), in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, also attended by Argentine President Javier Milei (not pictured), in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025
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Influential Far-right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu over Gaza War Policy

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, also attended by Argentine President Javier Milei (not pictured), in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, also attended by Argentine President Javier Milei (not pictured), in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sharply criticized on Sunday a cabinet decision to allow some aid into Gaza as a "grave mistake" that he said would benefit the militant Palestinian group Hamas.

Smotrich also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to ensure that Israel's military is following government directives in prosecuting the war against Hamas in Gaza. He said he was considering his "next steps" but stopped short of explicitly threatening to quit the coalition, Reuters reported.

Smotrich's comments come a day before Netanyahu is due to hold talks in Washington with President Donald Trump on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day Gaza ceasefire.

"... the cabinet and the Prime Minister made a grave mistake yesterday in approving the entry of aid through a route that also benefits Hamas," Smotrich said on X, arguing that the aid would ultimately reach the Islamist group and serve as "logistical support for the enemy during wartime".

The Israeli government has not announced any changes to its aid policy in Gaza. Israeli media reported that the government had voted to allow additional aid to enter northern Gaza.

The prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The military declined to comment.

Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, an accusation Hamas denies. Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe, with conditions threatening to push nearly a half a million people into famine within months, according to UN estimates.

Israel in May partially lifted a nearly three-month blockade on aid. Two Israeli officials said on June 27 the government had temporarily stopped aid from entering north Gaza.

PRESSURE

Public pressure in Israel is mounting on Netanyahu to secure a permanent ceasefire, a move opposed by some hardline members of his right-wing coalition. An Israeli team left for Qatar on Sunday for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.

Smotrich, who in January threatened to withdraw his Religious Zionism party from the government if Israel agreed to a complete end to the war before having achieved its objectives, did not mention the ceasefire in his criticism of Netanyahu.

The right-wing coalition holds a slim parliamentary majority, although some opposition lawmakers have offered to support the government from collapsing if a ceasefire is agreed.