Supermarkets in Lebanon have started pricing items in US dollars instead of the unstable local currency, after a government announcement allowing the practice in a country heavily reliant on imports. The local currency, now officially pegged at 15,000 to the greenback, was trading Wednesday at almost 90,000 to the dollar, compared to 60,000 in late January.
Sources say that a large supermarket chain in Beirut had begun displaying prices in dollars on Wednesday, while the exchange rate of 89,000 pounds was displayed on a screen at the entrance. Domestically produced fruit and vegetables were still priced in the local currency.
Authorities announced in late February that customs charges would be tripled, a move that risks pushing prices up further. The World Bank has said that Lebanon food price inflation reached 332 percent year on year in June 2022, the worst in the world.
Source: naharnet.com