Association of mill owners: flour subsidization comes from our pockets

The Association of Mill Owners in Lebanon said that the flour subsidization bakery owners are talking about will come from the mill owners’ pockets since the price of wheat highly exceeded the price adopted locally.      

The Association’s members do not hide their discontent with the price adopted by the Lebanese Ministry of Economy which is 540,000 LBP for each ton of flour.     

In light of the negotiations that accompanied the bakeries and mills’ search for a solution to the price of a bread bundle with the Lebanese state, the Association of mills considered that the additional burdens imposed on it with the wage increase and the global wheat price hike were not taken into consideration. Thus, the association sent its remarks to Economy Minister Nicolas Nahhas, showing that, with the new prices and burdens, the price of one ton of wheat must be 679,000 LBP.      

In this regard, Agro-Food Business Committee chairman Arslan Sinno told LBCI that the Ministry of Economy formed a committee to follow up on this issue and control costs and prices. The ministry said that numbers will show reality, refusing the adoption of hypotheses to determine the price of one ton of flour.       

It is noteworthy that there are 30 mills in Lebanon providing flour for the entire Lebanese market.