Raqqa’s Al-Salhabiya Center receives 7k tons of grain
Al-Raqqa – North-Press Agency
Al-Salhabiya Silos Department, western Raqqa, stated receiving grain process has continued since the opening of the center as a receiving point in early June.
Fathi al-Hussein, the head of the silos, spoke to North-Press while covering delivery of crops to the silos that the center was opened earlier this month, as one of 4 centers identified by Raqqa Civil Council for receiving grain.
All of the 4 centers were equipped with fire extinguishers and two pallets to measure the loads, while the silos receive both kinds of wheat, the soft and the hard, out of 11 thousand tons, the center has received so far 7 thousand tons of grain, which makes the storage capacity of the silos, according to Hussein.
There’re 75 staff members, administrators, guards, and workers in the four silos, who work intensively from 7 am to 7 pm, the center receives more than 500 tons of grain per day.
The head of silos told North-Press, “The receipt invoices will be distributed and paid to farmers within a maximum period of 20 days by the Agricultural Production and Development Company, While pointing out that the center of AL-Salhabiya is particularized to receive wheat grains, which led to a sort of competition in the markets, which in turn has raised the costs of transportation because of the longer period of waiting time for trucks.
On the other hand, Mohammed Al-Ahmad, a farmer in the area, told North-Press that the cost of one ton of wheat is about SYP 5,000 under the condition of emptying the load within 3 days, noting that they’re obliged to pay SYP 10,000 for each delayed day in case the grains were transported by tractors.
The farmer added: “While the trucks take about SYP 25,000 for each delayed night, also the workers in the silos keep blackmailing us, thus we are forced to pay about SYP 10,000 to evacuate the tractor’s load, about SYP 25,000 to unload a truck.”
While Hussein al-Hamad, a truck driver, told North-Press that they are obliged to raise the prices, because of the increased prices of diesel, as they pay SYP 175 per liter, and the long waiting times for unloading the trucks.
The farmers tended to clarify that obstacles facing them are because of grain traders who exploit them and buy their crops at low and cheap prices, which led some farmers to sell their grain at a low price, SYP 125 per kilo, due to the high costs of the transportation.
The burning of crops, and the blackmail of combine harvesters’ owners who didn’t comply to the prices of the Committee of Agriculture, in addition to the high wages of transport, which led the farmer to lose out all of the benefits that were highly expected in an extraordinary rainfall season.