Ukraine claim of stealing wheat to send it to Lebanon, Syria refuted
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The company and the Russian embassy in Beirut deny these claims.
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Tripoli port, Lebanon
Today, an official at a Turkey-based grains trading company denied Ukrainian claims that the cargo of barley and flour aboard a ship that docked at a Lebanon port was stolen from Ukraine, contending that the source was Russia.
The official, who works for Loyal Agro Co LTD, told Reuters that the company had sought to bring 5,000 tons of flour to Lebanon to sell to private customers, and not to the Lebanese government.
Lebanese government officials were inaccessible for comment.
On Thursday, the Ukrainian Embassy in Lebanon told Reuters that a Syrian ship, sanctioned by the US, docked in Tripoli port “carrying 5,000 tonnes of barley and 5,000 tonnes of flour that we suspect was taken from Ukrainian stores.”
The Russian Embassy in Beirut, in response, said it had "no information regarding the Syrian vessel or a cargo brought to Lebanon by a private company."
The unidentified company official said the cargo had not been offloaded and that Lebanese customs have not yet handed an import license as Lebanese customs were in the process of investigating Ukrainian allegations that the flour was stolen by Russia from Ukraine.
The official provided Lebanese customs with documentation legitimizing the source of the cargo.
On Thursday, a customs official and shipping source said Tripoli port had not offloaded the ship due to claims it was carrying stolen goods.
The cargo, according to the company official, carried some 8,000 tonnes of flour and 1,700 tonnes of barley in total. It was initially destined for Syria, but the company decided to offload 5,000 tonnes of flour in Lebanon to ameliorate the bread crisis. Thus, the remainder of the cargo will be sent off to Syria.
Furthermore, the official revealed that the flour could be sold anywhere between $620 to $650 per ton in Lebanon, whereas in Syria it would cost $600 per ton.
The majority of wheat in Lebanon was imported from Ukraine before the war started, but the imports were halted upon the start of the conflict.
Legal imports of Ukrainian wheat resumed in mid-July.
Read next: Lebanon approves $150 million World Bank wheat loan
On Wednesday, it was announced that 49,000 tons of wheat are in the process of being expedited to Lebanon and will be received by the end of the week, according to Economy Minister Amin Salam.
