اخبار سوريا اليوم – وطن نيوز
سوريا اليوم – اخبار سوريا عاجل
W6nnews.com ==== وطن === تاريخ النشر – 2026-06-01 11:04:00
Since the beginning of Eid al-Adha until today, the markets of Damascus have witnessed a noticeable increase in the prices of summer fruits, which are considered the beginning of their season, which has limited the ability of people to buy them and transformed them from a basic item on the tables of many families, into a recreational commodity that can only be purchased in very limited quantities. This increase comes amid the continuing living pressures faced by Syrian families, with salaries and incomes remaining at levels that are not commensurate with the prices of food and consumer goods. High prices in Damascus markets. In a tour conducted by Enab Baladi to a number of Damascus markets, which included the markets of Dawila, Al-Sina’a, Al-Midan, Al-Shaalan, and Al-Baramkeh, on Sunday, May 31, the prices of fruits varied according to type and location. The price of a kilo of cherries ranges between 40 and 60 thousand Syrian pounds, but before the holiday it ranged between 35 and 50 thousand Syrian pounds, while the price of a kilo of garnik ranged between 35 and 40 thousand Syrian pounds, which was sold for between 30 and 40 thousand Syrian pounds (usually prices gradually decrease days after the start of the season). As for peaches and peaches, the price per kilo of them ranges between 30 and 50 thousand Syrian pounds, after a kilo of them was sold for between 20 and 40 thousand. While the price of apricots ranges between 20 and 40 thousand Syrian pounds per kilo, after a kilo was sold for about 20 and 30 thousand Syrian pounds. As for bananas, the price of a kilo of them is about 15 thousand Syrian pounds, and they were sold for about 10 and 12 thousand Syrian pounds, while the price of a kilo of strawberries and berries ranged between 15 and 35 thousand, while they were sold between 12 and 25 thousand Syrian pounds. Purchasing by the grain: A number of residents expressed their dissatisfaction with the current prices of fruits, stressing that most of the varieties had become beyond their purchasing power, which prompted them to reduce quantities or buy some types by the grain only. Muhammad al-Shaar, a family head from Damascus, told Enab Baladi that fruits were previously a household essential during their season, but today they are bought in symbolic quantities only to please children. He added that the price of a kilo of cherries or peaches is equivalent to a large portion of the family’s daily expenses, which forces him to buy several cherries instead of a whole kilo, so that the children can taste them even once a year. For her part, Nermin Difo, a resident of the city of Damascus, said that her children ask for seasonal fruits, especially summer ones, but she is no longer able to buy them as in previous years, adding that some families are now content with buying “two or three pieces” of high-priced varieties. She confirmed that priority has become for basic items such as bread, vegetables, and household needs, while fruits have fallen to the back of the list of purchases. Demand is very shy… and the prices increased with the Eid. Fruit sellers did not express their satisfaction with the current prices, stressing that the high prices had a negative impact on sales, despite the introduction of seasonal items whose demand usually increases at this time of the year. Abu Ali Al-Munjadani, a fruit seller in Damascus, told Enab Baladi that the prices of fruit varieties have been high since they were introduced to the markets, but they increased at a varying rate with the beginning of Eid Al-Adha, and they are still high after its end. He describes the demand for purchases as “very shy” compared to previous years, explaining that many customers simply ask about prices and then leave without purchasing. He added that some customers buy peaches or apricots whole, while they buy cherries and cilantro in quantities not exceeding a quarter of a kilo, after they used to buy several kilograms during the season. He believes that the high costs of production, transportation, and labor wages, and the high prices affecting all goods, were directly reflected in prices, which weakened the market movement and affected the profits of sellers. Another seller in a popular market in Damascus, named Ghassan Salhani, agrees with him, stressing that sales activity has clearly declined this season, and that high prices do not serve the seller as some believe, because weak demand reduces the volume of daily sales. He added that most customers have begun to economize on buying fruits, while others prefer to do without them entirely, which has made the current season less active than previous seasons. High production costs… especially fuel. In turn, the Secretary of the Consumer Protection Association in Damascus, Abdul Razzaq Habza, said that the current rise in fruit prices is due to a group of interrelated factors, the most important of which is the beginning of the agricultural season, as the prices of seasonal products are naturally high during the first weeks of being put on the market. He explained that the weather fluctuations that Syria witnessed during the recent period, including strong winds and a large difference in temperatures between high and low, negatively affected the volume of agricultural production and the quantities offered in the markets, which led to a decline in supply and an increase in prices. This coincides with the rise in agricultural production costs, including fuel prices, transportation fees, labor, fertilizers, and agricultural pesticides, as well as increased irrigation costs as a result of rising energy prices. The association’s secretary confirmed that some governorates are currently experiencing difficulties in securing the required quantities due to the weather conditions they have experienced, especially in the northern regions that witnessed unusual rain and cold during this period of the year. Climate changes have also contributed to an increase in insect infections on agricultural crops, which has raised the costs of control and production for farmers, according to Habza, stressing that these combined factors have been directly reflected in the prices of fruits and vegetables. Fruit prices are due to a group of interrelated factors, including: the beginning of the agricultural season, when the prices of seasonal products are high, in conjunction with the high costs of agricultural production, including fuel prices, transportation fees, labor, fertilizers, and agricultural pesticides. Abdul Razzaq Habza, Secretary of the Consumer Protection Association in Damascus, “Consumer Protection,” warned against banning imports. Decisions banning the import of some local agricultural products at the beginning of the season also contributed to a shortage of some materials on the market, as he put it, pointing out that the association had previously warned against issuing import ban decisions in advance without a careful study of the actual production volume and the need of the local market. He added that the start of export operations for some agricultural products, in parallel with the ban on imports, led to increased pressure on local supply and an additional increase in prices. He called for re-evaluating the quantities available in the markets, and making flexible decisions regarding import and export according to the actual data of production and the market need, instead of relying on prior decisions that are not based on accurate field studies. The high prices of Eid sweets pushed for fruits. Regarding the increase in the prices of fruits during the Eid al-Adha period, he explained that the high prices of sweets prompted many families to go towards buying fruits as an alternative, which led to an increase in demand compared to the size of the available supply, and contributed to the continued rise in prices. He stressed the need to develop a systematic plan to support the agricultural sector, which includes providing fertilisers, pesticides, fuel, means of transportation and containers at reasonable prices, in addition to ensuring that support reaches deserving farmers in a fair and transparent manner. He concluded by saying that the continued rise in production costs without providing adequate support to farmers will lead to a decline in their ability to continue production, which will negatively reflect on the abundance of agricultural products and their prices in the markets. A reflective mirror of the imbalances in the Syrian economy. In turn, the economic expert and university professor at the University of Hama, Dr. Abdul Rahman Muhammad, believes that the Syrian economy has been experiencing a complex crisis for years, manifested in the erosion of the purchasing value of the local currency, the collapse of infrastructure, and the decline in local production. In light of this situation, the agricultural sector, especially fruits, constitutes a reflective mirror of greater imbalances. The Syrian citizen is witnessing an unprecedented jump in the prices of fruits starting from the Eid al-Fitr season and through Eid al-Adha until today, including the price of cherries at 50,000 liras and peaches at 35,000, is not a passing seasonal phenomenon, but rather a “dangerous indicator” of the complexity of supply and demand circles in a deteriorating monetary environment. Factors of high prices. In his conversation with Enab Baladi, it is likely that high prices are the result of overlapping structural and seasonal factors: The deterioration of the exchange rate: a direct reflection of the rise in the price of the dollar in the parallel market, as production inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, machinery, and irrigation fuel) are imported either directly in dollars or at local prices linked to it. Production and transportation costs: The prices of diesel and gasoline have risen insanely, which has raised the cost of transporting fruits from the countryside to the cities, and the cost of operating irrigation pumps and greenhouses. Weak local production: due to war, the migration of agricultural labor, the destruction of thousands of hectares of orchards, the fragmentation of agricultural land, not to mention the scarcity of water and the erosion of irrigation networks. Monetary inflation: The monetary supply doubled due to the printing of money without a productive cover, which increased the amount of money in circulation in exchange for rare goods, and the effect was transmitted directly to prices. Speculative behaviour: Some traders stockpile fruits at the beginning of the season (especially apricots and cherries) and gradually release them at price multiples, taking advantage of the lack of transparency in the markets. Export policies: They play a pivotal role in the high cost of local production, as the government previously allowed the export of some types of early fruits (cherries, apricots) to the Gulf markets, Jordan, and Lebanon to obtain foreign exchange. This export occurs while local production is scarce, creating scarcity in the internal market and raising prices in the interest of the exporter and the large farmer, at the expense of the average citizen. Support for farmers: In fact, support has declined sharply, and the remaining support (such as some subsidized fertilizers) often does not reach small farmers due to corruption and intermediaries. Fuel support for agricultural equipment is also insufficient and is disbursed in complex bureaucratic ways. Consequently, the absence of real support raises costs and is reflected in the price. Power outages, which forced farmers to rely on diesel generators, in addition to the collapse of internal rural roads, and the absence of market regulatory bodies, are all factors that exacerbated prices. Regarding the shy people’s demand to buy seasonal fruits, Dr. Abdul Rahman Muhammad considers that the demand is very weak among residents with limited income, and moderate to relatively high among the affluent segment and expatriates (who transfer in dollars). He explains that the phenomenon of buying cherries by the gram, for example, has become a reality, as the average citizen buys only 100-200 grams as a passing luxury. He stressed that the prices are economically irrational compared to the average income (which does not exceed a few million liras for most Syrians). Economically, the price is much higher than the equilibrium price if the markets were competitive, sound and free, according to his expression, explaining that the prices reflect market failure and distorted interventions, and not real scarcity balanced with real income. The unprecedented jump in fruit prices that the Syrian citizen is witnessing is a “dangerous indicator” of the complexity of the circuits of supply and demand in a deteriorating monetary environment, and the prices reflect market failure and distorted interventions. Abdel Rahman Muhammad, an economist and university professor, addresses the exchange rate and export policies as the first solutions. The economic expert proposed a set of solutions, to avoid the high prices of types of fruits in the local market, including: 1. Radical treatment of the exchange rate: It is not possible to reduce the prices of fruits without curbing the deterioration of the Syrian pound, and this requires stopping the printing of uncovered money, and developing a real monetary plan (even through arrangements with neighboring countries or Arab countries). 2. Review the export policy: either by prohibiting the export of basic fruits during periods of scarcity, or imposing export duties that are so high that they make exporting financially unfeasible, and using their proceeds to import alternative fruits or to directly support the local farmer. 3. Smart support for farmers: disbursing fertilizers, diesel, and electricity via a smart card registered in the name of the small farmer, and linking the support to the quantity of production marketed in local markets first before export. 4. Activating the Syrian Foundation to Support and Organize Markets: Direct purchase from farmers at the beginning of the season and storing the surplus, then pumping it successively to confront speculation, with fair pricing that guarantees a reasonable profit margin without greed. 5. Encouraging alternative and dispersed agriculture: in relatively safe countrysides, providing soft loans for modern solar irrigation (to get rid of the diesel nightmare), and improving rural roads to make the supply chain less expensive. Economic Impressions Dr. Abdul Rahman Muhammad concluded his talk by presenting several economic impressions centered on the high prices of seasonal fruits currently being witnessed in the markets, which are: The high prices of fruits in Syria today are not a passing seasonal phenomenon, but rather a cumulative summary of wrong economic policies (printing money without production, random exports in light of scarcity), a collapsing production structure (destruction of infrastructure, migration of farmers), and fatal monetary repercussions (currency erosion). The price of a kilo of cherries, at 50 thousand liras, symbolizes more than just fruit. It is a measure of the extent to which prices are disconnected from the real purchasing capabilities of Syrians. It is unrealistic to wait for prices to fall without addressing their root causes: monetary stability, a rational export policy, and real support that reaches the garden and not the pockets of middlemen. Without these reforms, buying an apricot or a peach will remain a luxury that only a few can afford, and the Syrian economy will remain trapped in endless cycles of high prices and inflation. Nominal solutions without fundamental change in macroeconomic policies are merely temporary palliatives for a body exhausted by chronic disease. Related
