Bread subsidies to be lifted within 2 months: Syrian Trade Minister
3 Min Read
Syria's Minister of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection confirmed that the country's current wheat reserves are sufficient to meet its needs for the next five months.
-
A Syrian girl pushes a cart loaded with cooking gas canisters, in Aleppo, Syria on December 5, 2016. (AP)
Maher Khalil al-Hassan, the Minister of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection in Syria's new administration, announced that the country aims to achieve self-sufficiency in wheat production by the 2026 season.
In an interview with CNBC Arabia, al-Hassan stated that the Syrian government plans to issue a tender for wheat procurement within the next six to seven months. He also highlighted that the country's wheat reserves are only adequate to meet domestic needs for the next five months.
Al-Hassan confirmed that Syria's wheat production in 2024 fell short of expectations, reaching only 700,000 tons.
He also stated that while a duty-free market in the country could lead to price increases for some goods, most prices have already decreased by approximately 50% or more, and further discussed plans to increase salaries by 400% in the coming days, expecting this to happen before January 15 or at the beginning of February at the latest.
Read next: Syria raises salaries for public sector workers by 50%
Al-Hassan expects that economic sanctions could either be lifted or suspended for six months to one year.
Concerning bread, the minister detailed that the cost of producing a kilo of bread is 40 cents in the free market, while it is currently being sold for 20 cents. He added, "We will absorb the difference in the cost of bread production until the market is fully liberated," pointing out that "the bread subsidy will be phased out within a month or two at most."
Al-Hassan also addressed the issue of the Syrian Trade Corporation, stating that the ministry plans to dissolve the institution due to its role as a major source of organized corruption. He emphasized that the Syrian Trade's debt bill to suppliers and traders amounts to approximately 30 billion liras, revealing the government's commitment to settling these debts.
Syria announces 400% pay hike
Syria's Finance Minister Mohammed Abazeed announced on Sunday that public sector employees would see their salaries increase by 400% starting next month.
The move comes as part of an effort to stabilize the country's fragile economy following over a decade of war and sanctions.
The planned salary hike, expected to cost approximately 1.65 trillion Syrian pounds ($127 million), will be funded through a combination of existing state resources, regional support, new investments, and efforts to reclaim Syrian assets currently frozen abroad.
Speaking to Reuters on Sunday, Abazeed described the increase as "the first step toward an emergency solution to the economic reality in the country."
