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Syria is also facing a wheat shortage, as it has thus far mostly relied on wheat imported in 2019. The story is quite similar with sugar, which is supposed to be sold at the STE for 500 lira ($0.23) per kilo, but shortages mean it can only be found on the market for 1,500 lira ($0.69) per kilo. However, problems which seem to be chronic to the “ Smart Card ” program-the e-system through which families can register for pre-apportioned rations at the STE-mean that families often end up having to buy rice on the non-subsidized market, where the price is 2,500 lira ($1.15) per kilo. In late July, the price of rice increased 50 percent, from 400 to 600 Syrian lira ($0.18 to $0.28) per kilo, according to the Syria Report. The intermittent, and oftentimes, complete lack of ability to import these key foodstuffs has meant rising prices even when goods are on the subsidized shelves of the STE. In addition, the country had a severe shortage of rice this summer, prior to a shipment arriving in the country in late July. Thus far, the regime has issued three tenders to import 25,000 tons of sugar in 2020, with all of them going unfulfilled, according to the specialist economic publication, Syria Report.
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Others, they said, follow the modified proverb: “A meal a day keeps the doctor away.”įailing imports reflect the depth of the currency crisisĭamascus has failed to complete multiple tenders this year, with attempts to import sugar, rice and wheat unsuccessful. One Syrian who lives in the regime stronghold of Latakia told Syria Direct that people were selling their furniture in order to pay for food, noting that their family had sold their refrigerator and television already. Notably, on August 20, a popular Syrian Arab Army (SAA) commander, Colonel Maan Eissa, was arrested for a Facebook post which criticized the poor food rations that his unit was receiving. Popular sentiment seems to also contradict the official line by the Minister, even within traditionally regime-loyalist areas, with Syrians taking to social media to criticize the rising prices of food and increasing shortages. According to Najm, “companies have faced difficulties” in importing subsidized goods, and goods that were supposed to have arrived from completed contracts have not yet done so. The Minister’s statements conflict with an interview given by the head of the STE, Ahmad Najm, to pro-government paper Al-Watan on August 22. Officials have made statements assuring citizens that food supplies are sufficient to meet the needs of the population, with the Interior Trade and Consumer Protection Minister, Talal Barazi, saying on August 6 that there is “no need to fear,” given that wheat supplies are “abundant” and that it will be sold at an affordable price to all. It has announced multiple tenders to import these foodstuffs but has mostly failed to fulfill them, generally due to issues in securing enough foreign currency to execute them.Īs a result, food prices have sharply increased in recent months, with basic goods like cooking oil and sugar over 350% more expensive than they were this time last year, and bread prices more than doubling in the same time period, according to WFP data. Specifically, the Syrian government has had trouble in importing sugar, rice and wheat this year. However, in recent months, Damascus has struggled to procure enough food to stock the STE’s shelves. In order to secure food for its citizens-over 80% of which live in extreme poverty -Damascus set up the Syrian Trade Establishment (STE) in 2017, which sells basic goods at subsidized prices throughout the regime-held territory. AMMAN - On August 20, the World Food Program (WFP) revealed that 9.3 million people in Syria are currently food insecure, with an additional 2.2 million at risk of facing the same fate.