Libya Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (JMMI) - 1 - 10 October 2018

INTRODUCTION

In an effort to inform cash-based interventions and better understand market dynamics in Libya, the Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (JMMI) was created by the Libya Cash & Markets Working Group (CMWG) in June 2017. The initiative is guided by the CMWG Markets Taskforce, led by REACH and supported by the CMWG members. It is funded by OFDA and UNHCR.

Markets in key urban areas across Libya are assessed on a monthly basis. In each location, field teams record prices and availability of basic food and non-food items (NFI) sold in local shops and markets.

This factsheet presents an overview of price ranges and medians for key food items and NFIs in the assessed areas, as well as the costs associated with key elements of the Minimum Expenditure Basket (MEB)

METHODOLOGY

• Field staff familiar with the local market conditions identified shops representative of the general price level in their respective locations.
• At least four prices per assessed item were collected within each location. In line with the purpose of the JMMI, only the price of the cheapest available brand was recorded for each item.
• Enumerators were trained on methodology and tools by REACH. Data collection was conducted through the KoBoCollect mobile application.
• Following data collection, REACH compiled and cleaned all partner data, normalising prices, crosschecking outliers and calculating the median cost of an MEB in each assessed market.
• More details are available in the Methodology section of the Appendix.

KEY FINDINGS

• Following the new tax on foreign currency transactions imposed since 19 September 2018, the value of the Libyan dinar appreciated against the US dollar on the parallel market, a rise by 26.9% from September to October.
• This appreciation was not accompanied by an overall decrease of the median cost of the Minimum Expenditure Basket (MEB), which reached 880.78 LYD in October. Despite decreasing median prices in the east (-6.2%) due in part to decreasing median prices of peppers (-30.0%) and potatoes (-20.0%), the overall cost of the MEB slightly increased by 1.8% compared to September. Additionally, while the overall median price of food items and cooking fuel (LPG) remained relatively unchanged in October, the overall median price of hygiene items rose by 18.9%. According to KIs, merchants tend to test new brands of hygiene items, which leads to a high volatility in prices.
• In October, the median price of bread remained at 1.67 LYD per 5 pieces. Due to sporadic flour subsidies by the government to tackle high bread prices, strong variations depending on the city assessed continued accordingly.2 The greatest increases were in the eastern part of Libya in Derna (+376.2%) and Mursuq (+274.3%).
• The overall median price of LPG was stable between September and October, with a median cost of 10 LYD per 11 kg across Libya. However, strong variations in prices were noticed, notably in the west (-31.0%) and the south (+27.3%). Additionally, following the end of clashes in Tripoli3 , the reopening of roads from Tripoli allowed the supply of LPG to start again in the neighbouring cities, which led to a decrease in median price accordingly, most notably in Al Aziziya (-61.3%) and Azzawya (-92.9%).