KOBANI, Syria (North Press) – Jamal Sharif, 55, a farmer from Kobani region in northern Syria, sold his land’s production of pistachio this year for 5.5 million Syrian Pounds (SYP), about $1.230, a price he did not like, as he hoped to earn more.
Sharif, who owns a land of pistachio trees in the village of Jibbneh, west of Kobani, said that he sold one kilogram (kg) of pistachios for 9.150 SYP ($2).
Although he sold one kg for 6.000 SYP last year, he found it better if it is compared to the exchange rate of the dollar, according to Sharif.
With the start of the pistachio harvest season in Kobani, farmers, including Sharif, accuse merchants of controlling the selling and buying prices, in light of decline in production.
Most farmers in the villages of the western countryside of Kobani depend on the cultivation of pistachio trees as a source of their income. 150 trees are planted per hectare on average.
Farmers consider the income of the pistachio crop is better than other crops such as wheat and barley.
The cultivated spaces have increased in the countryside of Kobani in recent years.
The production of one durable pistachio tree reaches 70-80 kilograms. Each hectare produces four tons annually, on average, according to farmers.
Taxes
Merchants attribute the reason for their reduction in prices to the taxes imposed by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, and Syrian government on pistachios passing through their regions.
They deduct these taxes from farmers by reducing the purchase price.
Hussein Bakr, 60, a pistachio merchant from the western countryside of Kobani, said, “The AANES imposes $100 on each ton of pistachio leaving its area, and the Turkish-backed opposition imposes $25 per ton.”
He pointed out that “each ton costs $125 to enter the city of al-Bab to reach the government-held areas, which in turn imposes additional customs duties.”
Merchants believed that opening Tabqa crossing for trade between the AANES and the Syrian government will make a difference in the purchasing price of more than 1.000 SYP per kg.
There are three types of pistachios, Persian Elongated (Akbari), Kernel, and Red.
The purchase requests were for Akbari at the beginning of the season.
The price of a kilogram ranged between 9.000 and 9.300 SYP.
“The war on Ukraine affected the prices of all crops and the decrease in requests for some of them, including pistachios,” Bakr noted.
Decline in production
The production of pistachios in Kobani declined during this year and last year. The region’s production of pistachios ranged between 500 and 700 tons.
While the production reached about a thousand tons two years ago, according to the merchants.
However, farmers and merchants expect the region’s production to reach 1.500 tons in the coming years, as the number of pistachio trees increases every year.
“Merchants offer to buy my production for 9.000 SYP per kg ($2), which is very cheap,” said Muhammad Bozan, 34, a farmer from the western countryside of Kobani.
Bozan attributed the reason for the decline in production to the lack of rain, placing fertilizers and pesticides in small quantities due to its high prices.
The pistachio tree needs five to six types of pesticides, according to farmers.
The price of one ton of fertilizers has increased over the past years from $200 to more than $700.
In contrast, the selling price of one kg of pistachio has decreased from four dollars during 2018 and 2019 to only two.
The tillage of the lands planted with pistachios used to exceed ten times annually in previous years, while the number of tillage did not exceed three times this year due to the lack of diesel for tractors, according to farmers.