A government study carried out by the Syrian consumer protection agency around prices of foodstuffs in wholesale markets over a month has revealed increases of up to 20 percent for sugar and 15 percent for olive oil.
According to the study, which included changes in the prices of 15 main provisions between March 13 and April 12, the rises included all items at different rates of between 10 and 20 percent, displaying that a number of reasons exist for the hikes, and not just the rise of the exchange rate of the dollar.
Among the highest rises in the items was sugar, where a 50 kg bag of sugar rose from 11,700 to 14,150 Syrian pounds – a rise of 20 percent. The wholesale price of one kilogram was 283 pounds while some stores sold it for 320 pounds.
The price of a liter of local olive oil meanwhile rose from 1,100 to 1,300 pounds, and a 16 kg package of oil from 17,000 to 19,500 pounds, marking a rise of 15-percent. The price of a 16 kg package of sunflower oil rose from 8,950 to 10,150 pounds. A 16 kg package of soybean oil rose from 7,550 to 8,475 pounds, to make the rise of vegetable oils around 10 percent.
The study showed that the price of local and imported cooking fats rose between 10 and 12 percent, with the price of a 4 kg package of Aseel cooking fat rising from 4,400 to 5,100 pounds, and the price of a 2 kg package of cow fat rising from 6,200 lira to 7,250 pounds.
A 5 kg bag of Spanish rice rose from 2,000 to 2,150 pounds, and the price of a 5 kg bag of Sunwhite Australian rice rose to 2,750 pounds, while a kilogram is sold for 565 pounds.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
