Despite repeated government assurances that prices are being monitored and market manipulation is prohibited, Syrian markets continue to reel under daily price chaos. Clear pricing remains absent for most goods, leaving costs to the discretion of individual sellers—even as the government insists that markets are “supervised” and prices are “competitive.”
This disorder unfolds against the backdrop of severe living pressures: a relentless rise in prices driven by fluctuations in the lira’s exchange rate, increased production and import costs, and the widening gap between household income and inflation.
Fluctuating Prices by the Minute
In an effort to improve transparency and protect consumers from exploitation, the Ministry of Economy and Trade issued a decision requiring producers and importers to clearly mark final consumer prices on products. Yet the measure has produced no meaningful change on the ground.
Syrian markets remain mired in what many describe as price anarchy. Shop owners rarely display prices; instead, the cost of an item is revealed verbally at the moment of purchase. This leaves consumers navigating a daily guessing game.
“I go to the supermarket and find no price tags anywhere,” said Mustafa Arabiniyeh, a freelance worker from Damascus. “The seller tells me the price verbally. If I don’t like it, I go to another store—where the same item might be 10,000 or 15,000 liras more expensive.”
Speaking to Al-Hal Net, Mustafa added, “Now the consumer has to guess the price. It depends on the shop owner, and sometimes on how he sees the customer.”
Samer al-Dawlatli, who owns a supermarket in central Damascus, defends the absence of price tags: “The merchant, like the citizen, is suffering,” he said. “Prices change every day. If I write a price and don’t sell the item within two days, the price has already changed. There’s no practical monitoring, so I stick to verbal quotes to avoid misleading the customer.”
Still, Samer acknowledges that this practice leaves the door wide open for exploitation and places consumers in a constant state of doubt.
Price Display as a Basic Consumer Right
In earlier statements, Hassan al-Shawa, Director of Consumer Protection and Food Safety, stressed that price disclosure is a fundamental consumer right, and that the ministry is responsible for safeguarding it.
He noted that price liberalization has allowed producers to set prices based on production, transport, and other economic factors. More than 11,000 violations for failing to display prices were recorded in a short period, prompting the ministry to issue new executive instructions and deploy monitoring patrols.
“Any violation will be treated as a regular supply offense,” al-Shawa said.
Yet despite repeated government promises to improve economic conditions and rein in prices, Syrians report no tangible improvement. Living standards continue to deteriorate as prices rise, turning daily shopping into a source of constant anxiety.
Consumers complain of stark discrepancies in the prices of identical goods between different stores—and sometimes even between different customers in the same store. This reflects the absence of real enforcement of the mandatory pricing policy the government has announced.
“The situation is difficult. Income isn’t improving, and prices rise every day without any clear reason,” said Nada Maadmani, a homemaker from Damascus. “Every time I go to the stores, I find different prices—sometimes higher, sometimes lower. There’s no written price, so you don’t know if you’re being charged correctly. Every day brings new stress about the budget.”
Maadmani added that without displayed prices, planning purchases becomes nearly impossible, especially with limited income and continuous price hikes.
A Market Without Anchors
Caught between unenforced government statements and an open market devoid of clear pricing, Syrians find themselves navigating a landscape of uncertainty. With no reliable oversight and no consistent pricing, consumers are left to face the chaos of the market alone.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
