Lebanon raises bread prices as fuel costs pile pressure on MENA’s net energy importers

Lebanon raised the official price of a medium-sized bundle of white bread by LBP 5k to LBP 80k (USD 0.89) — the latest sign of a fuel-cost squeeze rippling through MENA’s net energy importers. The Economy and Trade Ministry said diesel accounts for roughly 22% of bread production costs, and noted the pass-through works both ways: A drop in fuel costs would trigger a cut.

The bread hike follows a fuel-price surge on 11 September, when the Energy Ministry raised diesel by LBP 52k (USD 0.28) and 95- and 98-octane gasoline by LBP 49k (USD 0.55) per 20-liter can, pushing a 20-liter can of 95-octane and mazout to around USD 30.

Lebanon has been on a repricing spree this year: Bread has been repriced five times this year, and fuel rates were amended about 17 times — more than doubling over the period. With Saudi’s bypass targeted by the Houthis, crude and refined products prices are heading for the worst.

The squeeze is compounding an already frayed economy: Bank depositors clashed with security forces outside Bank of Beirut and the Economy Ministry on Thursday, protesting the deadlocked deposit-recovery bill as an IMF delegation met with Finance Ministry officials.

And it’s not just Lebanon: Syria raised diesel 40% this month, triggering the widest protests since Assad’s fall. Iraq also lifted fuel subsidies on commercial and industrial sectors on 1 September, setting new fuel prices ranging between USD 0.57-0.92 per liter, but has since denied plans to raise them further. Egypt is also expected to announce a second fuel-price hike this year, following March’s increase.