It appears that public sector employees are obliged to pay for everything related to their living expenses in instalments, even food. The head of the Damascus Chamber of Agriculture, Omar al-Shalat, said that a 16 kilogram canister of olives cost between 23,000-26,000 Syrian pounds, and that for 20 liters of oil it was 25,000-30,000.
Shalat said that the olives were plentiful in markets but that the prices were still high and that they had only gone down a little bit and for specific types compared with last year. He said that the matter related to the fact that olive producers still suffered from a lack of labor, with wages above 600 pounds per hour, in addition to the cost of transport, which is passed on to consumers.
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.
