The Graphic Truth: Salad crisis — Lebanon's food prices soar
August 03, 2021
Gabriella Turrisi
Lebanon's economic implosion and currency crisis have caused food prices to surge. Lebanon imports around 80 percent of the food it consumes, and so the sharp depreciation of the lira vs the US dollar has made some staples five times more expensive than when the economic crisis first hit in October 2019. This year's Ramadan was very painful for many Lebanese, as the cost of an Iftar meal — which Muslims break their fast with each day — has increased a whopping 300 percent in just two years. We take a look at how food prices have risen as a result of the plunging value of Lebanon's currency over the last 15 months.