The Council of Ministers convened at the Grand Serail under the presidency of Prime Minister Hassan Diab. The session was devoted to following up on living standards and rising prices.

At the beginning of the session, PM Diab stated that we were facing an enormous and dangerous challenge, as price increases have become unreasonable, especially food prices.

He expressed his surprise at high prices of Lebanese products and vegetables.

Diab added: “We are confronted with a wave of high prices, and we cannot stay idle as if we were not concerned. It is totally unacceptable for us not to act quickly, because things will further get out of control. Pricing has become random and ill-conceived, and prices have nothing to do with the high dollar exchange rate“.

Diab stressed that the government was responsible for protecting people against every opportunistic merchant and every attempt to starve the Lebanese out. It is unacceptable that merchants act freely, with some merchants in control of markets acting unscrupulously by fixing imaginary prices and lacking human and national conscience.

PM added: “It is true that this is the responsibility of the Ministry of Economy and Trade, but the government collectively has a duty to help and support the Ministry of Economy in addressing the high prices”.

Diab called for a quick plan to control price increases, stating that it was necessary to prevent some merchants from controlling food prices.

He underscored that the State was responsible for protecting the food security of the Lebanese people, and uttered that it was necessary to put an end to this chaos. There must be strict measures to protect people’s livelihoods.

The whole Cabinet is preoccupied with following up on this issue, not just the Ministry of Economy. Even supervisory agencies, security services, and municipalities must be partners in facing the epidemic of soaring prices.

Then, the Cabinet discussed available options and measures to combat the outrageous price surge. The Minister of Economy informed the Council of Ministers of a decision to set a maximum profit margin for basic commodities, by adjusting the margins defined in a decision taken since the 1970s, as well as verifying the application of the same standards in stores, monitoring prices and matching bills to payments.

17 actions were taken in the context of controlling price increases.

It was also decided that Internal Security Forces would accompany inspectors to regulate prices; inspectors will also be assisted by municipalities’ staff.

The Cabinet asserted that food security constitutes a national issue, and that resolute efforts shall be exerted to suppress any attempt of tampering with the livelihoods of Lebanese people.