Basic commodity prices to rise by 15% if customs dollar reaches LBP 90,000: Food Importers' Syndicate

The Syndicate of Food Importers in Lebanon warned against raising the customs dollar to LBP 60,000 and then adopting the US dollar rate on the Sayrafa platform as of May 1.  

The syndicate said that even if several foodstuffs are not affected by raising the customs dollar since they are exempted from customs duties, however, there are a good number of basic foodstuffs that are subject to high customs duties.  

It noted that raising the customs dollar to the limits of LBP 90,000 will increase the prices of these commodities by about 15 percent.  

The Syndicate of Food Importers, headed by Hani Bohsali, issued a statement stressing that the solution to this problem lies in exempting these commodities from customs duties, especially since they are basic foodstuffs, and there are no similar industries in Lebanon.  

The statement pointed out that the syndicate, at the request of Prime Minister Najib Mikati, had prepared a list of these goods and handed them over to him to take the necessary measures to exempt them, but this did not happen.  

The syndicate called for "the necessity of exempting these goods from customs duties as soon as possible," affirming that "the state's revenues can be increased from many other places, the first of which is pursuing the illegal economy, which now constitutes more than 50 percent of the national economy, and this alone can double the state revenues and cover a large part of the state's financing needs."