The price of a kilo of beef reached 300,000 Lebanese pounds, or nearly a quarter of the employee’s salary, while the price of a kilo of lamb soared above 450,000 pounds, and this made this important food item beyond the reach of a very large segment of the Lebanese people.
Meat prices in Lebanon vary according to regions, as they are higher in cities than in villages and rural areas due to transportation costs and high rents.
As a result of the economic crises that the country is experiencing, Lebanon is no longer at the forefront of meat consuming countries in the Middle East, after the price of a kilo of fresh meat rose from 15,000 pounds before the crisis, forcing the Lebanese to change their dietary behavior and reduce the consumption of meat forcibly.
This was reflected in a decrease in the percentage of meat imports, which amounted to 70%. The ships loaded with meat that arrived late last year did not exceed 6, while Lebanon imported at this time of the year about 20 ships loaded with cows and sheep, according to special information for Sky News Arabia.
Umm Rabah, 60, told Sky News Arabia, “Meat visits our house once a month, and our situation may be better than that of our neighbors who have turned to bread and pastries.”
Al-Qassab Majed Muhammad said, “Many are the Lebanese who have replaced fresh meat with the cheaper frozen meat, while others are satisfied with small quantities, and some of them no longer enter the house at all.”
import decline
“The import of meat in Lebanon varies between red meat, poultry and fish,” the head of the Syndicate of Food Importers in Lebanon, Hani Bohsali, explains to Sky News Arabia. “.
With regard to poultry meat, Bohsali said, “Most of it is from local production and a little of it is imported. The consumption of poultry is declining continuously, as well as the national production, which recently decreased by 30 percent, as well as its consumption.”
As for fish meat, Bohsali said, “It is unfortunate that Lebanon does not have accurate statistics about livestock, and the majority of the amount of fish is consumed in restaurants, and everyone knows what this sector (restaurant sector) has been exposed to as a result of the economic crises and the Corona pandemic, which contributed to a significant decrease in its consumption.”
Bohsali added, “Lebanon is witnessing a noticeable decrease in the import of canned goods as well as a result of the increase in prices, after the price of a can of tuna, for example, reached 30,000 Lebanese pounds, the equivalent of one dollar, after its price did not exceed 2,000 pounds only.”
He pointed out that “the consumption of canned meat has decreased significantly, and the Lebanese citizen has moved to another place, becoming more consuming bread, legumes and grains.”
He continued, “The majority is moving, due to the crisis, towards the use of flour, because it is still subsidized by the state, even if the price of a bundle of bread has risen and reached more than ten thousand pounds, after its price was not more than a thousand pounds, yet it remains the cheapest for the Lebanese consumer.”
Nutrition experts
In her turn, nutritionist Marwa Salman, in her interview with Sky News Arabia, pointed out that the Lebanese “were eating meat a lot, and this is harmful to health,” adding, “But to stop eating it completely, it is imperative to compensate for it with food alternatives and supplements. Red meat contains fast-digesting protein of the highest quality. Of vegetable protein, and minerals such as iron, zinc and vitamin B12, so not eating meat at all negatively affects the immune and nervous systems, muscle growth, blood formation and tissue building.
It seems that the choice of vegetarian food will forcibly control the largest segment of the Lebanese population as the economic crisis intensifies and its impact on the diet in Lebanon increases.
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