Abdul Khaliq al-Ani, the Deputy Minister of Economy and Trade in Syria, announced that the Ministry has taken measures to control the market in terms of prices and the availability of consumer goods during Ramadan.
Al-Ani indicated that the Ministry will conduct tours of the markets and follow up on customer complaints, calling on citizens to cooperate with the patrols. The Ministry is trying to prevent the abuse of prices. As for the availability of consumer goods in the market, Al-Ani said that there is enough food to meet the needs of citizens at reasonable prices.
One source of complaint is the cost of chickens and eggs. Excluding maize, there has not been an increase in feed prices. However, chickens and eggs have maintained high prices. Legislation to lower the cost of poultry and eggs starts in August, but prices may continue to rise due to the large number of poultry farmers who went out of business because of difficulties, leading to the decrease in poultry and eggs offered in the market. As for red meat, there was a new price increase in the meat of cattle and municipal lamb, with the cost of lamb up 15 liras per kg and the cost of cattle meat up by 30 liras.
Last week, the cost of chickpeas, beans and lentils also rose, while the cost of locally produced vegetables and fruits remained the same, with supply exceeding demand and export to Arab markets almost nonexistent. As such, the cost of potatoes, tomatoes, watermelons, and bananas decreased significantly.
Clothing prices remain a great mystery to regulators. Differences in prices between popular and un-popular markets are as high as 100%, with vendors willing to negotiate prices down 30-40%. Further, the sellers are not producers but may sell items on consignment, which means that for every piece that isn’t sold, the seller has the right to return it to the factory, thereby only paying for sold pieces. Profit margins do not exceed 10 to 20%. The national clothing industry, in Syria, is exposed to competition from cheap Chinese and Turkish clothing, which led to the closure of dozens of clothing manufacturers. (Source: www.yallafinance.com)
