North-Press Agency
Residents’ complaints about the spike in food and vegetable prices have increased in the eastern countryside of Raqqa, coinciding with the lockdown in the region and the month of Ramadan. The ban has also been extended for the third time, and residents blame merchants for high prices due to their monopoly of basic materials.
Muhammad al-Yasin, a 38-year-old resident of the town of al-Karama, 30 kilometers east of Raqqa city, said that the rise in prices began with the imposition of the lockdown and rose even further with the extension of the lockdown period and the beginning of Ramadan.
He pointed out that the price of one kilogram of tomatoes rose from 700 Syrian pounds (SYP) to 1,000 SYP in al-Karama’s shops. The price of a kilogram of potatoes increased from 450 to 650 SYP, and a kilogram of red meat reached 7,500 SYP after it was sold at 5,000 SYP before the lockdown period.
Mustafa al-Rudaini, a 56-year-old resident of al-Karama, said that the reason for the price increases is merchants’ monopoly of some essential materials and their availability during a time of high demand, “which led to a price increase of about 25% over what it was previously.”
Traders from the town replied that there were other reasons for the rise in prices of food and necessities, such as the imposition of customs taxes by Syrian government forces’ checkpoints.
“The increase in the prices of commercial goods is due to the difficulty in bringing them from Syrian government-controlled areas and the imposition of customs taxes on trucks transporting goods by security checkpoints,” said Ahmad al-Barjas, a merchant from al-Karama.
At a time when the population’s attention is focused on the Autonomous Administration’s supervisory committees’ development of solutions for high prices and monopolies in the town, the Oversight and Supply Official in al-Shaab Municipality in al-Karama Faraj al-Jasim said that the main problem with price control lies in the sharp rise in the price of the US dollar. The dollar’s exchange rate against the Syrian pound has fluctuated between 1,275 and 1,250 in the past few days, while its exchange rate in the local markets before the start of the lockdown was 1,050 SYP.
Al-Jasim added that the other reason for the high prices is the closure of some crossings and roads, such as the Salamiya crossing in Tabqa, 55km west of Raqqa, which links Syrian government-controlled areas and Autonomous Administration areas in North and East Syria.
Most cities in northeastern Syria witnessed a rise in prices, with the value of the Syrian pound deteriorating against the dollar during the lockdown. This stopped economic activity in the region almost completely for more than 40 days, which led to additional suffering for low-income people.