More than half of the Lebanese population faced the threat of a food crisis after the Beirut blast, the UN said in a statement.

More than half of the country's population is at risk of losing access to their basic food needs by the end of the year, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia said in a statement.

According to the executive secretary of the commission, Rola Dashti, urgent measures must be taken to prevent a food crisis.

She noted that the Lebanese government should make the construction of the largest grain warehouse in the port of Beirut, which was destroyed in the explosion, as its priority.

According to the UN Commission, the annual inflation rate in 2020 is expected to be more than 50%, while this figure in 2019 was 2.9%.

Relief agencies and experts say 85% of Lebanon's food needs depend on imports, and the destruction of a silo at the Port of Beirut could worsen an already dire situation.

She also called on the international community to expand food security programs targeting refugees and their host communities to help defuse potential social tensions.