Jab Allah Al-Shaibani, a member of the Libyan House of Representatives, has drawn a sharp contrast between Libya’s past food-security policies and the current volatility in meat prices, arguing that the dismantling of state institutions has left citizens exposed to market manipulation and soaring costs.
Al-Shaibani said that during the Jamahiriya era, the General Company for Livestock and Meat functioned as a core state instrument to safeguard the population’s food supply. According to him, the company imported livestock, supervised slaughterhouses, and distributed meat at subsidized prices that were affordable for ordinary families. This system, he noted, ensured steady availability and predictable pricing, preventing traders from monopolizing a staple food item.
He stressed that meat prices at the time were not hostage to foreign exchange fluctuations or speculative market behavior. Instead, the state maintained an active presence, intervening when necessary to impose balance and protect consumers from profiteering. The goal, he said, was not to replace the market but to prevent abuse and guarantee access to essential goods.
Al-Shaibani warned that the collapse of this institutional framework has had severe consequences. With the General Company for Livestock and Meat no longer operating in its former capacity, meat prices have surged, supply has tightened, and a small number of traders now dominate the market. As a result, citizens are paying not only higher prices for meat, but also the broader cost of an absent regulatory state.
He argued that governments which respect their people do not treat food as a commodity for speculation. Instead, food should be regarded as a matter of national security, subject to oversight and strategic management. Leaving essential nutrition to unchecked market forces, he said, invites instability and social pressure.
Al-Shaibani concluded that restoring effective state mechanisms in the food sector is critical for stabilizing prices, breaking monopolies, and reaffirming the principle that access to basic nutrition is a public responsibility rather than a profit-driven gamble.
