Wheat farmers awaiting government’s accord on 2015 entitlements

The Daily Star reported in its issue of today that wheat farmers are still waiting for the government to release their entitlements for last year’s harvest after the Cabinet failed to reach a decision over how much to pay them. On the other hand, the Ministry of Economy is considering paying some 500 wheat growers who registered for the last year harvest at least USD100 for each dunum. Hassan Hammud, head of the Ministry’s department of supply and production told the newspaper that farmers are facing serious difficulties in marketing their crops due to fierce competition from imported products. Lebanon, he said, usually purchases the whole domestic wheat production and imports the remaining needed quantities from Ukraine, Russia and other European countries. It is to be noted that yearly domestic wheat production during the last three years has stabilizes at the level of 140,000 tons, well below the total local demand of 825,000 tons which was recorded during the marketing year that ended in June 2015, and that is according to US Department of Agriculture statistics. (The Daily Star, January 21, 2016)