{"id":47732,"date":"2022-03-07T09:28:41","date_gmt":"2022-03-07T09:28:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=47732"},"modified":"2022-03-07T09:28:41","modified_gmt":"2022-03-07T09:28:41","slug":"uae-sends-30-tons-of-emergency-aid-to-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=47732","title":{"rendered":"UAE sends 30 tons of emergency aid to Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\nBEIRUT: Hour-long queues outside gas stations have returned to Lebanon, as supplies of cooking oil and flour in shops dwindle amid mounting fears of a food security crisis.<\/p>\n

\nCitizens told Arab News: \u201cWe saw on social media that a new crisis is underway. We arrived at the supermarket to find people fighting over cooking oil and flour.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWe do not trust the promises made by the ruling authority and we have previously run out of basic foodstuffs and medicines,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWe fear this could happen again, especially since Ramadan is approaching,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n

\nLebanon lost important wheat silos in the Beirut port blast in 2020. The facilities used to store about 120,000 tons of wheat.<\/p>\n

\nToday, the country stores much of its wheat in warehouses in the north, which are stocked after supplies are unloaded in the port of Tripoli.<\/p>\n

\nBut Lebanon still lacks sufficient storage space, and is dependent on regular imports to secure its monthly demand for wheat, which is about 50,000 tons.<\/p>\n

\nIn 2020, Lebanon imported more than 630,000 tons from Ukraine, which represented 80 percent of its total imports. Russia supplied 15 percent of the remainder, while 5 percent came from other countries.<\/p>\n

\nAnd in 2021, Lebanon imported 520,000 tons from Ukraine and the rest from Russia.<\/p>\n

\nLebanon\u2019s remaining stockpile is estimated to last a little more than a month, especially if the Central Bank fails to transfer money for wheat shipments that Lebanese mills have ordered.<\/p>\n

\nEconomy Minister Amin Salam said the government is seeking to reach agreements with several countries to import wheat at reasonable prices and secure reserves of up to two months.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cBut the problem remains in the source and price, in addition to the speed of delivery of supplies before our stock runs out,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\nAs a result of the financial collapse and currency devaluation, Lebanon\u2019s purchasing power has significantly declined, meaning its economy is almost entirely dependent on imports.<\/p>\n

\nThe prices of commodities, foodstuffs and services are now intertwined with global markets, and any international events, such as the Ukraine conflict, have direct effects on the Lebanese public.<\/p>\n

\nLebanon\u2019s annual imports from Ukraine total about $500 million.<\/p>\n

\nHead of the Syndicate of Food Importers in Lebanon Hani Bohsali said: \u201cLebanon imports 100,000 tons of oils per year, 90,000 tons of which are sunflower oils, and 60 percent of sunflower oil comes from Ukraine, 30 percent from Russia, and 10 percent from Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Ukraine is currently no longer exporting, while Russia may encounter problems with the SWIFT system, which will disrupt imports.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nWhile the government seeks alternative countries to supply wheat, Bohsali warned that there were no alternatives to source cooking oils or the raw materials needed to produce them.<\/p>\n

\nOn Sunday, members of the State Security Directorate carried out inspections on gas stations that closed on Saturday, claiming that they had run out of supplies. Authorities forced them to reopen if they had remaining stock.<\/p>\n

\nQueues at gas stations returned on Saturday following rumors of a fuel crisis.<\/p>\n

\nThe official prices of fuel surged on Thursday, with a 20-liter canister of gasoline costing more than 400,000 Lebanese pounds ($20). A 20-liter canister of diesel reached 375,000 Lebanese pounds.<\/p>\n

\nHowever, Energy Minister Walid Fayad denied that there was a crisis on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\nShips carrying gasoline supplies are at sea and will soon unload their cargo, he added. \u201cIt seems that fuel suppliers want to issue a daily price schedule to keep pace with the global markets,\u201d Fayad said.<\/p>\n

\nThe General Directorate of Petroleum is expected to issue a new table of fuel prices to take into account surging global fuel prices.<\/p>\n

\nGeorges Brax, a member of the gas station owners\u2019 syndicate, called on citizens to avoid panicking and stockpiling gasoline.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIt is true that the quantities arriving in Lebanon are now less than before due to the global crisis, but what we receive is sufficient for local needs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\nBrax called on the Central Bank to speed up the prepayments for ships to unload their cargoes in order to avoid a crisis, especially since the situation could worsen in the future.<\/p>\n

\nActing Information Minister Abbas Al-Halabi said: \u201cLebanon is in communication with international companies to address the issue of food security.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nMany countries are experiencing difficulties in exports and imports amid concerns over the war in Ukraine, he added.<\/p>\n

\nPrime Minister Najib Mikati\u2019s government will soon prevent the export of foodstuffs produced in Lebanon until the crisis caused by the Ukraine crisis subsides, and afterward will limit the export of wheat and flour to maintain domestic bread supplies.<\/p>\n

\nThe Economy Ministry will also work to prevent monopolisation and price gouging.<\/p>\n

\nDuring his Sunday sermon, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi called for an end to wars that \u201clure fighters to practice barbarism against one other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nHe said: \u201cWe pray that the war stops, as a mercy to the innocent. We pray for an end to the destruction, killing and displacement.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWe pray anger and hatred would subside. We pray that the parties to the conflict could sit down and resolve their conflict peacefully. We emphasize the need to adopt a neutrality policy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BEIRUT: Hour-long queues outside gas stations have returned to Lebanon, as supplies of cooking oil and flour in shops dwindle amid mounting fears of a food security crisis. Citizens told Arab News: \u201cWe saw on social media that a new crisis is underway. We arrived at the supermarket to find people fighting over cooking oil…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spotlight_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47732\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}