Wheat shortages take a toll on Lebanon's bakeries - in pictures

Fears of a food crisis have been triggered by the war between Ukraine and Russia - two of the world's biggest wheat exporters

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  A baker holds up a seeded white loaf of bread at a bakery in Beirut, Lebanon, which faces a food crisis because of war in Europe. All photos: Bloomberg

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  A worker opens a sack of flour to prepare bread dough in Beirut. Lebanon's wheat importers are already rationing flour sales to counter panic buying.

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  Lebanon, already suffering from years of financial crisis, has faced new problems since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

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  Lebanon normally buys 96 per cent of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine.

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  The war between two of the world's biggest wheat exporters has sparked fears of a food crisis in many Middle Eastern countries.

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  Lebanese importers are struggling to get dollars from a subsidy programme to buy wheat from new suppliers.

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  As countries try to secure new sources of wheat, cash-strapped Lebanon's small market of 6 million people could go without.

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  Lebanon lacks grain storage after silos were destroyed in the 2020 Beirut Port blast.

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  The country needs 50,000 tonnes of wheat to feed its people for a month.

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  Subsidies keep the price of bread in Lebanon artificially low.

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  But a loaf now costs on average 10,000 Lebanese pounds, or $0.45, more than six times the price in 2019.

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  Millers estimate that without subsidies, prices could more than double.

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  Analysts fear that could cause social unrest in a country where three quarters of the population now live in poverty.

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