The Governor of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), Naji Issa, held a meeting in his Tripoli office yesterday with the President and CEO of the Libyan Industries Union (LIU), in the presence of several CBL department directors and a group of food importers.
The meeting addressed and resolved difficulties in supplying essential food commodities in preparation for the holy month of Ramadan starting next Tuesday 17 or Wednesday 18 February.
The aim is to positively impact the prices of these commodities and their supply system in the coming months, ensuring they are affordable for citizens given the current shortages.
During the meeting, an urgent agreement was reached for importers to deliver 2.5 million boxes of cooking oil, to be made available this week and next. This is in addition to the existing open letters of credit for oil imports, valued at $100 million, equivalent to 6 million boxes.
Furthermore, all procedures related to the supply of essential commodities will be streamlined to compensate for the current market shortages. It was also agreed to hold regular meetings to monitor market conditions and the flow of goods.
Part of the wider move to fight rising prices
The move by the CBL comes as part of a wider concerted effort by it, in coordination with the Tripoli government, to fight price-fixing and monopolistic behaviour by some importers granted letters of credit (LCs), LC corruption, imported inflation and price increases, protect standards of living through purchasing power, reduce demand for the US dollar in the black market, and defend the value of the Libyan dinar.
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