Iran Press/ Middle East: Raoul Nehme added that Lebanon will import wheat, but that the country has enough crops by the time wheat imports begin, Reuters reported
Beside the grain silos, a grain terminal was seen damaged in the explosion, according to various reports and analysts. The port handles 60% of all Lebanon imports.
The silos have a total capacity of 120,000 mt of grains, consisting of 48 big cells, with a capacity of 2,500 mt/cell, and 50 small cells that can hold 500 mt each.
Lebanon generally imports 1.2 million mt of wheat and 900,000 mt of corn each year.
The silos serve as strategic storage for Lebanon, with about 85% of the country's cereals stored in the facility, according to trading company Mena Commodities.
However, it is believed the silos did not contain huge quantities of grain at the time of the explosion, as the country tried to meet a shortage of bread that surfaced recently due to the current financial crisis, the company said.
According to a news report from MTV Lebanon, Lebanese interior minister Mohamed Fehmi said the explosion appeared to be caused by more than 2700 tons of stored ammonium nitrate, which is generally used for fertilizers.
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