Wheat crop in Syria’s Manbij not sufficient for bread producing
MANBIJ, Syria (North Press) – The wheat crop we receive does not cover the annual need of producing bread for the residents of Manbij and its countryside, Ahid Muhammad, head of the purchasing wheat center in Manbij, northern Syria, said.
“This will lead to rely on the production of the Jazira region to complete our need.”
“The company has received about 900 tons of wheat. However, Manbij needs about 240 tons of wheat per day to make bread, which means that, what is received covers only 20 days,” he added.
“This mean that the city and its countryside will depend on the Jazira region to complete their annual need of wheat,” Muhammad noted.
The quantities of the production of this season are very low and the amounts of wheat received this year may not exceed 4,500 tons, according to Muhammad.
The storage capacity of Manbij’s silos amounts to 9,000 tons distributed on six silos. The purchasing center is provided with a lab to analyze the wheat and determine its quality in addition to a steelyard balance to find out the weight of cars carrying wheat.
The wheat is received after the farmer obtains a certificate of origin from the Agricultural Committee of the council, then it is transferred to the purchasing center in the silos, according to the Agricultural Community Development.
Muhammad pointed out that one kilogram of the first grade wheat is priced at 1,150 Syrian pound (SYP), the second grade at 1.138 SYP, the third grade at 1.127 SYP and there is the fourth grade whose price is determined after the percentage of impurities and gram are known.
The crops of wheat and barley are greatly damaged this year due to the poor rainfalls in winter and Turkey’s seizure of the Euphrates River water.
Irrigated lands planted with wheat in Manbij are about 2,918 hectares, while the rainfed lands are 678 hectares, according to Muhammad.
He stated that their job this year, is limited to purchasing wheat. As for the barley, the farmer can sell it to Kobani and Raqqa centers after obtaining the certificate of origin from the Agricultural Community Development Company in Manbij.