On Tuesday, a Ukrainian ship coming from the Port of Berdyansk arrived at the port of Tripoli in northern Lebanon.
The Golden Bird ship has started unloading its cargo, which amounts to 11,000 tonnes of wheat.
The director of the Port of Tripoli, Ahmed Tamer, said that another Ukrainian ship, Princess Mariam, which “unloaded its load of wheat in Tripoli port last week, has gone to Ukraine and will return to the port after loading its wards with wheat.”
Both ships, Golden Bird and Princess Mariam, had left Ukraine shortly before the Russian invasion.
Lebanon is facing the harsh consequences of the Ukrainian-Russian war amid the risk of a shortage of wheat, which started after the Beirut Blast when Lebanon’s biggest grain silos were destroyed.
In February, the Lebanese Minister of Economy, Amin Salam, told local news agencies that Lebanon has enough wheat reserves for one month, and is seeking to import wheat from other countries.
Wheat prices are now increasing in Lebanon since the country imports 60% of its wheat from Ukraine and 12% from Russia.
The worldwide market will also be impacted by the recent military developments in Ukraine under the Russian invasion. It is expected to cause a food shortage and a major hike in gas prices worldwide since these two countries produce about a quarter of the world’s wheat, and Europe is dependent on Russia’s gas to survive.
