IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Samer al-Sarhan is a pseudonym for a 35-year-old man who displaced from Kafranbel town to live in Idlib city, northwest Syria, said he was not able to afford olive oil for his family this year as the price surpasses his purchasing capacity.
Instead, al-Sarhan was forced to buy vegetable oil which costs less than the olive oil.
Al-Sarhan’s family needs 50 kilograms of olive oil per year.
The price of one olive oil tin that contains 16 kilograms has increased to 160,000 SYP ($ 45), which many residents and displaced people in Idlib city consider an incredible price amidst the difficult livelihood conditions they live in.
The new price is due to the fall of the Turkish lira against the US Dollar.
Yesterday, 10 Turkish lira (TRY) was equal to one USD and one Turkish lira was equal to 353 Syrian Pound (SYP), according to Lira website.
The Turkish currency slid to a record low after the Turkish Central Bank cut interest rates and Turkey had diplomatic crisis with European states.
Since Idlib is controlled by Turkish-backed opposition factions and the people deal with the Turkish currency, this worsened the situation for them. The price of all materials, including fuel, gas, food, and medicine among others inflated.
Taxes
In regard to olive oil, the reason behind its high prices is the taxes (zakat) imposed by the Salvation Government, the political wing of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the monopoly of Turkish companies to export it.
The Turkish companies, based in areas controlled by Turkish-backed factions in the countryside of Aleppo, supervise the industry and export of olive oil.
Traders in Idlib city export olive oil only through such companies.
Following the closure of cross points connecting Idlib to government-held areas, farmers as well as traders in Idlib were deprived of the benefits of export.
For the third year in a row, the Zakat Department run by the Salvation Government imposes 5% tax on owners of olive oil presses and traders of al-Hal market under a decree issued in 2019 under the demands of the general interest, as alleged.
According to the decree, farmers have to pay 5% of olive crop or olive oil. The decision was claimed to be issued based on the provisions of the bylaw of the Salvation Government and an order by the Endowment Office in HTS.
To be liable to pay zakat (tax), olive crop must amount to 673 kilograms and olive oil must amount to 128 kilograms, according to the decree.
Every farmer who submits fake data will have to pay 10% of zakat.
Exploitation
According to the decree, the HTS obliges owners of olive oil presses and traders in al-Hal Market to cooperate with various committees of the Zakat Department in the process of gathering zakat.
Traders are also obliged not to buy olive crop or olive oil until they make sure owners of olive oil presses and farmers have paid zakat (tax) according to official vouchers accredited by the HTS, and any breaches exposes liabilities.
In turn, Idlib’s residents considered such a decree as an exploitation to their agony especially that Idlib lost lots of agricultural swaths in the last few years.
Approximately 14 million olive trees are planted in 128,554 hectares in Idlib, agricultural engineers said.
Sa’id al-So’oud, is a nickname for a 45-year-old man who owns an olive oil press in Ma’arat Misrin, north of Idlib.
According to al-So’oud, committees of the Zakat Department are deployed in olive oil presses with the advent of olive harvest in order to take the taxes from the farmers.
The committees force farmers to pay the taxes under the threat of imprisoning or confiscating the whole crop.
Al-So’oud has to pay $150 every year to be allowed to operate his own press.
Like many other olive oil press owners, al-So’oud increased the price of pressing olives, he told North Press.
Raghad al-Sadeer, a pseudonym for a 45-year-old displaced woman who lives in Deir Hassan Camp, said such increase in the prices and worsening of livelihood conditions denied her to get olive oil for her family and so was forced to replace it with vegetable oil.