Libya's policy on letters of credit (L/Cs) has come under fire from a member of the country's Presidential Council (PC), the body formed to run the country under the terms of the UN Security Council endorsed Libyan Political Agreement.

Council member Mohammed Amari Zayed has expressed reservations about the decision of the PC to grant US$1.5 billion of L/Cs for food imports.

L/C concerns

Zayed, who is a minister of state in the PC, expressed his concerns in a letter to the council's chairman, Fayez Sarraj.

"The recent measures to deal with the economic crisis did not succeed in the past, including granting bank L/Cs, which means a monopoly by a limited group of traders to import goods," he said.

Economic policies

L/C availability should be determined by exchange rates, currency availability and market conditions rather on allocations by the council according to Zayed.

The minister of state has also called on the ministry of economy to actively develop sound economic policies to ensure a continual flow of reasonably priced imports and to introduce price controls in the domestic market.

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or Coastline Solutions.