Lebanon to buy more wheat to keep bread prices stable

Lebanon plans to buy more wheat this year to help keep bread prices stable, said Mohamed Zaineddin, head of the General Directorate of Cereals and Sugar Beets, reported Bloomberg.

Lebanon last month issued its first wheat tender in a year, buying 15,000 metric tons of wheat from the U.S. and 7,500 tons from Ukraine, Zaineddin said in a telephone interview today. Last year, Lebanon imported about 400,000 tons of wheat, he said. Governments bought more grain to curb domestic prices and quell rioting that toppled leaders in Tunisia and Egypt.

“The government plans to issue more wheat tenders this year after the recent rise in wheat prices,” Zaineddin said. “This is meant to provide the local market with subsidized flour and bread.” Lebanon has wheat reserves to meet demand for about five months, he said.

Protests erupted across northern Africa and the Middle East in the last several months, in part driven by a surge in food prices that the United Nations says rose to a record in February.