Estimates indicate that Syrian wheat production this year was at about 2.5 million tons, Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi has said.
He noted that note that the current Minister of Agriculture said in May 2012 that production would be at 3.6 million tons for 2013.
Halqi said the government expected farmers to hand over around 2 million tons of wheat to central depositories for redistribution, purchased by the government at 70 billion Syrian Pounds, but that after the harvest and delivery was completed, it became clear they received less than one million tons.
According to some sources, the amount of grain to be processed in mills delivered to the government did not exceed 780,000 tons, prompting questions about where the other 1.5 million tons went.
Did it stay in the local market or was it smuggled abroad? Who took the grain and was it stolen? Could the government buy larger quantities if a more effective and responsible actions had been taken?
Halqi said it was certain that a large part of the wheat crop which wasn’t delivered to government centers was smuggled to neighboring countries in Turkish trucks. Some he said were moving freely in the northern northern border areas and that some armed opposition groups were taking part in the operartions.
This file, and dozens like it, reveal the falsity of the government's schemes and claims and show the level of waste of public funds.
As long as there is a crisis in the country, the government will make excuses for all its errors, irregularities, abuses and cases of waste and corruption.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
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