Aoun: Quick Measures Must Be Taken to Stop Fast-Rising Prices

President Michel Aoun on Tuesday stressed the need for “quick” and urgent measures to stop the big hike in prices of food commodities.

Aoun said the prices of all kinds of goods have gone beyond acceptable, stressing that “urgent and quick measures must be taken to restore order and activate supervision.”

His remarks came during a Cabinet session held at Baabda.

He said: “Special attention should be paid to proposals submitted to assist the Lebanese in the current difficult circumstances, especially those related to social assistance, exemptions and demands of various kinds of institutions.”

Prices of basic goods have increased massively in some cases by over 60% in Lebanon.

In recent days, and in defiance of the ongoing lockdown, Lebanese demonstrators have hit the streets again, railing against a sharp devaluation and stinging price hikes.

The exchange rate, long pegged at 1,507 Lebanese pounds to the dollar, has soared to more than 4,000 pounds in recent days.

Prices have risen by 55 percent, while 45 percent of the population now lives below the poverty line, according to government estimates.