Amro Salem: Western sanctions are the reason for bread queues in Syria
Because of the sharp shortage of resources, mainly gasoline , wheat and gas that are being looted by the US and Turkish occupation forces, and because of the western unilateral coercive measures imposed on Syria, there will be a new mechanism for distributing subsidies via the “ Smart Card” to those who are in need in the country.
Today, the Minister of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection Amro Salem clarified- in a press conference held at Al-Wehda Establishment’s headquarters in Damascus- that the new mechanism will exclude Syrians not in need of subsidies like those who are abroad and have not visited the country since one year ago.
If you pass by public bakeries in Damascus, you can see a lot of people standing in line for up to six hours to buy a couple of bags of bread at a cheap price [200 Syrian Pound/ one packet of the round flat pita bread].
According to Salem, the ministry will follow up a new mechanism based on selling bread through cars or in small shops thus people do not need to go to public bakeries or to waste many hours there.
He pointed out that the ministry is doing its utmost to ensure bread to people despite of the fact the West imposes sanctions on the countries that send wheat to Syria and hinders the ways of shipping the wheat with the aim of increasing the cost of shipping and the period of the delivery of this material, which is being used to make bread.
Syria in 2021 saw its lowest level of wheat production in 50 years as drought, high input costs and dire economic conditions took their toll, according to a recent report by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Production of wheat and barley — two staple foods for Syrians — declined substantially this year, with wheat output falling by 63% from the previous year to 1.05 million tonnes, according to the FAO. Barley production stood at just 10% of 2020’s harvest levels.
In 2020, Prime Minister Hussien Arnous declared that Syria’s need for imported wheat amounts to 1.2 million tons, affirming that the country has enough wheat until the end of that year.
Related links :
http://www.syriatimes.sy/index.php/news/national/56863-us-occupation-forces-smuggle-40-trucks-and-tankers-loaded-with-stolen-syrian-oil-and-wheat-to-iraq
http://www.syriatimes.sy/index.php/news/national/55690-us-occupation-forces-plunder-more-quantities-of-syrian-wheat
http://www.syriatimes.sy/index.php/news/national/55593-us-occupation-forces-smuggle-40-tankers-loaded-with-stolen-syrian-oil
http://www.syriatimes.sy/index.php/news/national/55304-us-occupation-continues-to-steal-syrian-grains-from-tal-alou-silos-in-hasaka-countryside
http://www.syriatimes.sy/index.php/news/national/54322-us-occupation-forces-bring-out-21-trucks-loaded-with-stolen-wheat-from-syria-to-iraq
http://www.syriatimes.sy/index.php/news/national/56043-large-areas-of-agricultural-land-burned-by-the-turkish-occupation-and-its-mercenaries-in-the-northern-countryside-of-aleppo
Reem Haddad / Editor-in-Chief
Basma Qaddour/ Journalist