After port blast, Lebanon has less than a month’s grain reserves, says minister

Lebanon has enough grain reserves for “a bit less than a month” after an explosion at Beirut port destroyed the nation’s main silo, Economy Minister Raoul Nehme told Reuters on Wednesday.

“We are currently looking for storage areas,” Nehme said, adding that Lebanon needed enough inventories to last at least three months to ensure its food security.

The grain silo at Beirut’s port was destroyed in Tuesday’s blast that rocked the capital city, Lebanon’s minister of economy told Reuters on Wednesday.

The country has enough inventory, together with vessels on the way, to cover its needs, Raoul Nehme told Reuters.

Meanwhile, Lebanon is not facing a flour crisis and has around 35,000 tonnes of it in mills, despite the man grain silo in Beirut’s port being damaged by a huge blast on Tuesday, the local news channel LBCI reported on Wednesday, quoting an economy ministry official.

Lebanon is trying to immediately transfer four vessels carrying 25,000 tonnes of flour to the port in Tripoli, the official told the news channel.