By Sami Zaptia.
London, 16 October 2019:
The Benghazi Pasta Factory aims to reopen by January next year, it was revealed yesterday.
The revelation came after a meeting yesterday between the Chairman of the National Mills and Feed Company, the head of Benghazi Municipality and the head of the Benghazi Pasta Factory. The Mills company supplies the grains to the pasta factory.
It was repeated that the Mills company has been hampered by debts it is owed for several years by the state’s Price Stabilization Fund, the state entity that sells subsidized food into the Libyan market.
The head of Benghazi Municipality pledged to support the pasta factory and the National Mills and Feed Company.
It must be kept in mind that many reforming Libyans hold the view that the state should not be competing with the private sector by producing and marketing subsidized pasta in this day and age. The view is that pasta is no longer a strategic item which can easily be supplied by the private sector at very competitive prices.