in 2014, Syria’s textile sector produced only 17 percent of its predicted output due to the lack of cotton and electricity. The sector’s predicted production value in 2014 was set at 47.3 billion Syrian pounds, while actual production didn’t exceed 8.15 billion Syrian pounds, resulting in an executive rate of only 17 percent.
According to a study prepared by the Executive Office of Unions of Textile, the value of stoppage amounted to 33.3 billion Syrian pounds – which would have formed 87.5 percent of the predicted production rate had it been added to the actual production value. The study attributed the sector’s failures to: blackouts (12.7 billion pounds); a lack of available labor (nearly 8.6 billion pounds) and a lack of raw material (over 12 billion pounds).
The total predicted sales value was pegged at 47 billion pounds, while actual sales value never exceeded 8.2 billion pounds – including 49 million pounds of exported products.
The study attributed the reasons of the 2014 deficit to: the Ministry of Finance’s disproval of new projects, with a focus on projects that produce 60 percent of their production capacity; the high dollar exchange, significantly impacting machine prices; and the concentration of company headquarters in conflict areas.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
