According to the Arab business and finance portal ,“Zawya.com”, the food industry is suffering difficult times in Lebanon with the price of staples rising, the cost of imported foodstuffs increasing and exporters finding it harder to penetrate the overseas markets.

Although the Lebanese government decided to interfere and increase state subsidies, the price support for flour was just one of the issues faced by producers, with the rising costs of power and fuel, which is making conditions more difficult. Moreover, Lebanon is particularly susceptible to food price fluctuations on the international market, as it imports up to 70% of its food requirements.

US Department of Agriculture statistics stated that Lebanon imported 300,000 tones of wheat in 2007. Although much lower than the 1999 peak of 459,000 tones, it still represents a significant expense for both the country and the government through its subsidies.

To counter import-dependency, there has been a concerted push to increase local wheat production, with 50,000 ha of land now under cultivation, up from 36,000 a decade ago. However, last year's harvest of 140,000 tones met less than a third of the country's requirements, suggesting that bread prices in Lebanon will come under more pressure from any further increase in global wheat tariffs.

It is not just the cost of putting bread on the table that has become an issue for the Lebanese food industry. Selling the country's agricultural products abroad and expanding the sector has also become harder since the exports have been hit by rising health and safety standards. In fact, it is costly to implement EU production requirements and, in many cases, Lebanese food industries cannot afford to meet them.

Moreover, one of the fundamental failings in the agriculture sector is the lack of investment. However, with 75% of Lebanon's farms having just one hectare of land or less, according to the FAO, most of the 200,000 farmers in the country are ill-placed to upgrade technology or infrastructure in order to improve output, with 40% of farmland dedicated to subsistence farming only.

Although Lebanon has large tracts of fertile land and a rainfall that is higher than average in the region, it remains unable to take full advantage of its agriculture sector. Perhaps the underlying reasons for Lebanon's failure to capitalize on its agricultural potential are a combination of failed export reforms and reliance on imports and state subsidies to supply domestic needs. Without significant change, farmers will struggle to reap a richer harvest.