Lebanon again raises price of bread amid crippling crisis

Lebanon’s economy ministry has raised the price of subsidized bread for the fifth time in a year amid the tiny country’s worsening economic and financial crisis

BEIRUT -- Lebanon’s economy ministry on Tuesday raised the price of subsidized bread for the fifth time in a year as the country’s multiple crises worsen with no resolution in sight. The ministry said the reason behind the latest increase — an 18% hike from the last raise in February — was the central bank's ending of sugar subsidies, which in turn adds to the cost of bread production. Lebanon is grappling with the worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history — one that the World Bank has said is likely to rank as one of the worst the world has seen in the past 150 years. The currency has lost 90% of its value, breaking a record low earlier this month of 15,500 Lebanese pounds to the dollar on the black market. The official exchange rate remains 1,507 pounds to the dollar. The World Bank said in a report this month that Lebanon’s gross domestic product is projected to contract 9.5% in 2021, after shrinking by 20.3% in 2020 and 6.7% the year before.