But at what rate?
If you have visited Lebanon in recent years, you may have been warned to bring US dollars (USD) with you, and to never use your credit card while in the country.Although the official currency of Lebanon is the Lebanese Lira, the country is very much reliant on the US dollar, which is difficult to obtain in the country at a fair rate.
There are two ways to exchange USD into Lebanese Lira: through banks at the official “Sayrafa” rate as set by the Government, or at the black market - mostly through OMT offices or freelance exchangers working on Whatsapp.
Officially, and since 1997, the Lira is pegged to the US dollar at the rate of 1,507.5 lira to the dollar. Nonetheless, the rates on the black market fluctuate every day, even every hour. As a response, the Lebanese central bank launched the Sayrafa platform on May 2021, looking to match the exchange rate offered by unofficial exchangers.
Today, July 7th 2022, the Sayrafa rate is 1 USD at 25,400 LBP, while the unofficial market is selling a dollar for 29,400 LBP. When exchanging $100, the Sayrafa rate would give you 400,000 less Lira, which nowadays can buy you 8 kilos of pasta in Beirut.
Having two competing exchange rates hits Lebanon’s most vulnerable the hardest. With the constant fluctuation and the on-going economic crisis, the prices of basic commodities rise as the dollar gets higher, but do not decrease when the rate drops. As such, the basic food basket gets more expensive every month.
This has severely affected our mission. At 26 Letters, we deliver basic boxes to our families, containing food, sanitary products, and medicine. Although 26 Letters has been serving families for many years, we have felt the impact of the price fluctuations the hardest over the past 12 months. To illustrate, while a bottle of shampoo used to cost us the equivalent of $2.10 in July 2021, it now costs us $3.10. The price of 5L of oil has gone from $8.50 to $16.50, rice from $3.50 to $5.50, and sugar from $3.30 to $7. This has forced us to cut the number of products we are able to deliver to our families.
Donations have become more important than ever to us. With just 50 euros (USD$51), you can help us sponsor a family of 5, which allows us to provide them a personalised box to meet their monthly needs. If you are in a position to donate, we invite you to go to our Donate page and get us one step closer to helping one more family.
