Apple season in As-Suwayda, farmers’ complaints amid lack of support
As-Suwayda – North-Press Agency
Many apple farmers in the province of As-Suwayda have been disappointed this year after their dreams of having a bumper harvest, they were disappointed with the apple prices that were set by the farmers’ union, which seem unlikely to secure the production costs.
Abu Emad Hammoud, an apple farmer in As-Suwayda told North-Press: “We are disappointed of this year’s season, where the products in the fruitful fields are only about a third of last year’s production!”
He said: “The decline in apple production this season coincides with significant rise of the production costs, especially since the dollar exchange rates have risen almost daily for some time”.
Hammoud believes that the peasant is still the weakest figure, because he is the only one who is restricted with the price.
He clarified that “the exporter or the wholesaler sets the price per kilogram of apples depending on the dollar, and when the price rises, even if the exchange rate falls, it does not lower the selling price”.
Abu Fahad, a farmer said: “Working in agriculture has become a loser job”.
He explained: “We buy apples on the trees, we bring workers to reap, and we bring boxes to load, then we rent refrigerators to save, in addition to sorting and waxing”.
He stressed that all this needs funding: “In addition to renting refrigerators for export, so all these costs rise, especially with the rise of the dollar and the high cost of living, in the end, Jordan brings us back the refrigerator with multiple pretexts, after it has been standing for days at the borders”.
“It is not our fault that the export markets are closed for Syrians, and the state should support the farmer and the trader, it’s the one who is responsible for securing these markets; despite the promises of providing support, we have seen nothing yet,” he said.
General Union of peasants in As-Suwayda has announced the set prices of receiving the apple crop from farmers for the current season per kilo as the following:
The price of the red excellent type of apple is 230 SYP per kilo, where the first type 215 SYP, the second type 195 SYP, and the third type 105 SYP.
The price of the yellow excellent type of apple is 220 SYP, the first type 200 SYP, the second type 180 SYP, and the third type 95 SYP.
The Fruit and Vegetable Marketing Cooperative Association in As-Suwayda expected to start receiving the apple crop from the farmers of the northern countryside, where it ripens early, then reaching to Zaher al-Jabil area, which starts harvesting next month.
It is noteworthy that the association last year hired about 545 tons of apples, while the number of exported apples to foreign markets had reached about 16,478 tons, according to the Chamber of Agriculture of As-Suwayda.
The governorate’s production of apples has reached about 79,289 tons, while the remaining quantity of the local market was more than 62 thousand tons, which witnessed a decline in the prices due to oversupply.
Support for exporters was absent during the season, even in the exporting countries where prices have fallen.
The Directorate of Agriculture in As-Suwayda preliminary estimated that the total production of the apple crop for the current season at about 21,259 tons.