Lebanon: 42% of Families Cannot Afford Ramadan Iftar

 FILE PHOTO: Volunteers prepare food for distribution to people in need, amid concerns over the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the port city of Sidon, southern Lebanon May 27, 2020. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Volunteers prepare food for distribution to people in need, amid concerns over the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the port city of Sidon, southern Lebanon May 27, 2020. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho/File Photo
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Lebanon: 42% of Families Cannot Afford Ramadan Iftar

 FILE PHOTO: Volunteers prepare food for distribution to people in need, amid concerns over the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the port city of Sidon, southern Lebanon May 27, 2020. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Volunteers prepare food for distribution to people in need, amid concerns over the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the port city of Sidon, southern Lebanon May 27, 2020. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho/File Photo

A mere comparison of prices of some basic food commodities in Lebanon shows that Iftar banquets this Ramadan will miss items that were taken for granted last year.

The price of a kilo of rice, which did not exceed LBP 3,000 (two dollars based on the official exchange rate of LBP 1,515 per dollar) now exceeds LBP 8,000, while a kilo of lentils - which is called food for the poor - reached LBP 15,000. The price of 5 liters of cooking oil was around LBP 18,000 to increase by 7 times, reaching LBP 90,000, as merchants applied the black market exchange rate of LBP 13,000 per dollar.

An index published on Monday by the American University Crisis Observatory showed that the cost of an Iftar consisting of essential ingredients (a date seed, lentil soup, fattoush salad, and half a cup of milk) and a basic meal per person would cost LBP 12,050 (USD 8) or LBP 60,250 (USD 40) daily for a family of five persons.

This means that the cost of Iftar is more than two and a half times (2.6) of the minimum wage per month, bearing in mind that the calculated price does not include water, juices, sweets, gas, electricity and cleaning materials.

The Observatory noted that 42.5 percent of families in Lebanon, whose income does not exceed LBP 1,2 million per month (now equivalent to about USD 100) would find it difficult to afford the minimum Ramadan meal.

In comparison with previous years, the basic Iftar cost index, according to the Observatory, showed an increase from about LBP 450,000 per month in 2018 to LBP 467,000 in 2019 and then to about LBP 600,000 in 2020, to jump upward this year.

“We will rely on inexpensive and satiating foods, such as pasta, for example,” says a lady waiting her turn at the door of a supermarket.

She told 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.

The Ministry of Economy had intensified its inspection visits to supermarkets ahead of Ramadan, recording a large number of violations. A source in the ministry told Asharq Al-Awsat that the ministry was monitoring prices regularly, but it was difficult to check 22,000 points of sale with only 77 inspectors.

A survey conducted by Information International on a sample of 100 families showed that 45 percent of respondents did not prepare Easter sweets last week, while another 35 percent made the traditional “maamoul” at a lower cost, replacing pistachios and walnuts with dates and sugar.



Thomas Barrack: Syria’s Joining Abraham Accords ‘Could Take Time’

HANDOUT - 19 June 2025, Lebanon, Beirut: US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during a press conference in Beirut. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa
HANDOUT - 19 June 2025, Lebanon, Beirut: US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during a press conference in Beirut. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa
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Thomas Barrack: Syria’s Joining Abraham Accords ‘Could Take Time’

HANDOUT - 19 June 2025, Lebanon, Beirut: US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during a press conference in Beirut. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa
HANDOUT - 19 June 2025, Lebanon, Beirut: US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during a press conference in Beirut. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa

Syria and Israel are engaged in “meaningful” talks through the United States that aim to restore calm along their border, according to Thomas Barrack, US President Donald Trump’s envoy to Syria.

Barrack said in an interview with The New York Times on Thursday that the administration wanted Syria to join the Abraham Accords, but “this could take time” because Syria’s new President Ahmed al-Sharaa could face resistance at home.

“He cannot be seen by his own people to be forced or coerced into the Abraham Accords,” Barrack said. “So he has to work slowly.”

Trump tapped Barrack, an old friend and private equity investor, to help realize his vision for the Middle East, which the administration hopes will foster less conflict and more prosperity.

Trump made clear during his Mideast visit in May that lucrative business deals in sectors including arms and artificial intelligence were his priority, and his decision to bomb nuclear enrichment facilities in Iran last month showed his support for Israel and willingness to use force against American foes.

Barrack called the US administration’s approach a departure from previous “failed” American attempts at “nation building” and from past efforts to shape how other governments rule.

Much of Barrack’s work has focused on pushing Syria and Lebanon, both recovering from destructive wars, toward solving their own problems while rallying support from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and other regional partners.

It is unclear whether Trump’s focus on prioritizing economic development over vocal support for democracy will fare better than the efforts of previous administrations to address some of the Middle East’s most bedeviling problems, according to The New York Times.

Barrack, in his first diplomatic job at age 78, has been working his relationships with heads of state and other power brokers. He said that having a direct line to the White House and to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the fact that the administration had “little patience for the region’s resistance to helping itself,” had helped.

Much of Barrack’s effort has focused on Syria, where the fledgling government of al-Sharaa is trying to rebuild the country after a 13-year civil war.

Trump signed an executive order this week aimed at ending decades of US sanctions on Syria.

Barrack said that instead of making strict demands, the administration had laid out objectives for the Syrian government to work toward while Washington monitored its progress.

Those indications would include finding a peaceful accommodation with Israel; integrating the US-backed, Kurdish-led militia that controls Syria’s northeast; and investigating the fates of Americans who went missing during the war.

Progress on democratization and inclusive government will not happen quickly, Barrack said, and are not part of the US criteria.

American officials have expressed concerns about the thousands of fighters who came to Syria from abroad to take part in the war, mostly as part of militant groups.

Barrack said Washington realized that Syria could not expel those who remained and that they could pose a threat to the new government if they were excluded. So the Trump administration instead expects transparency about the roles they are given.

Lifting sanctions to encourage changes worked better than keeping them in place until Syria met specific demands, Barrack said.

“It is a brilliant way to accomplish the same thing, and these roll-on, roll-off sanctions have never worked anyway,” he said.

The new Syrian government’s relations have been tense with Israel, whose military has moved into southern Syria and often carried out operations there. The talks aim to quiet the conflict along the border while laying the groundwork for better relations.