Syrian government announces sharp rise in bread, diesel prices | Syrian News

Bread prices have doubled and diesel prices have nearly tripled in a war-torn country, as the government seeks to address the economic crisis.

The Syrian government has announced an increase in the price of bread and oil to address the economic crisis, which is causing more suffering to civilians in the Middle East who have been embroiled in more than a decade of war.

Bread prices have doubled and diesel prices have risen sharply on Sunday, according to the SANA news agency, as the new prices went into effect in the Syrian government on Sunday amid the ongoing economic crisis.

The election comes just days after Damascus announced a 25% rise in oil prices.

The government of President Bashar al-Assad has repeatedly raised oil prices in recent years to address the economic crisis caused by the war and the inclusion of Western sanctions.

“All of this was to be expected and now we are afraid of a sharp rise in the price of … food and medicine,” Damascus resident Wael Hammoud, 41, told AFP as he waited more than 30 minutes for a cabin to take him to work.

The price hike was in line with a law issued by President al-Assad on Sunday that raises the minimum wage by 50% and provides a minimum wage of 71,515 Syrian pounds per month ($ 28 per acceptable level), from 47,000 pounds ($ 18).

In the second amendment, al-Assad raised the pension fund by 40%, according to SANA.

A price list published by the state news agency on Saturday night showed a liter of diesel fuel will now cost 500 pounds, from those who use 180 pounds in most areas they were already paying.

Mustafa Haswiya, of Syria’s state-owned company Storage and Distribution of Petroleum Products, says 80% of Syrian hydrocarbons are imported using foreign currency.

“It was necessary to raise prices to reduce the cost of living,” SANA quoted him as saying.

The price of assisted bread exceeded Syrian pound 200 pounds. The government-run Syrian Foundation for Bakeries said rising prices for diesel fuel have contributed to the rise, according to SANA.

‘No money’

Diesel fuel in Syria is used to power cars and secret generators that run up to 20 hours a day in some places to support a sick electrical grid disrupted by fuel shortages.

Al-Watan, who supports the government every day on Sunday, said the rise in diesel fuel led to “a sharp rise in domestic and regional prices” by more than 26 percent. The agricultural and industrial sector will also see a rise in prices, he said.

The cost of heating will also rise by 178%, according to Al-Watan.

An unnamed economist in Damascus who did not want to be named said the government would continue to raise prices as the crisis worsens.

“As long as there is no investment in stocks, the prices will continue,” he said.

The recent rise in prices came just two weeks after the Lebanese government, which approached the crisis, raised oil prices by more than 35 percent in defiance of what the authorities say is part of a smuggling scandal in Syria.

The roll-out of priority projects in Syria has been the culmination of the country’s civil war, which began in 2011 after the government suppressed protests.

In the rebel-held areas of northwestern Syria, neighboring Turkey – a key ally of anti-government groups there – tried to close the gap, make flour mills and provide energy.