Spotlight: Syrians complain of skyrocketing prices amid tough economic situation

Syrians use ATMs in Damascus, capital of Syria, on June 7, 2020. Syrians have been complaining about the skyrocketing prices amid a tough economic situation. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

DAMASCUS, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Syrians have been complaining about the skyrocketing prices amid a tough economic situation.

Samar al-Hafez, a housewife, told Xinhua that the economic situation has become scary in recent weeks.

"I don't know what happened and all of a sudden, the prices dramatically increased. I am now a window shopper because I cannot afford these prices," she said.

The prices of products have increased ten folds since the beginning of the crisis in Syria nine years ago. In recent months, the situation even got harder.

The new economic hardship is also coupled with a steep decline in the value of the Syrian pound against the U.S. dollar.

The local Aliqtisadi news website, or The Economic, said the prices have increased 30 percent last month, citing merchants and businessmen as saying that they had to change the price tags on food items six times last week alone.

The report said many retailers have stopped selling until the prices settle on a certain range, adding that the sales percentage has hit bottom low as people are asking more about the prices than actually buying stuff.

In al-Hamra street, people seemed so shocked to see the price tags on clothes.

"The government must do something to control this craze in prices ... my husband's salary is only enough for five days per month amid these prices," said Rula Zaitounieh, a local resident.

On social media, people started addressing the government with posts urging the official to find a way out of the economic crisis because people cannot stand this situation anymore.

Observers believe that several factors have contributed to the tough economic situation, including the closing of borders as a result of the coronavirus, and the lack of money transfer from Syrians abroad to their families.

Additionally, the U.S. has toughened the sanctions on Syria with the so-called Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act that aims to sanction the Syrian government including President Bashar al-Assad for its alleged war crimes against the Syrian people.

The law, expected to be implemented in June, also includes sanctions on any party that might aid the Syrian government.

All these factors have also affected the prices of medicine in the country amid a shortage in supply.

The head of the Pharmacists Syndicate in Damascus confirmed the loss of many pharmaceutical items in the market as a result of the halt of production by pharmaceutical factories "to pressure the health ministry into raising the prices of medicine," according to Aliqtisadi.

The problem is that the health ministry in the country set the prices of medicine to cope with the condition of the people while the pharmaceutical companies have a problem with securing U.S. dollars to buy raw materials, which pushes them to buy dollars in high prices and thus cannot abide by the prices of the health ministry.

In the capital Damascus, pharmacies are crowded nowadays with people who are taking medicines out of fear that certain types of medicines might go missing from the shelves.

In an apparent bid to try to find a fix to the situation, al-Assad on May 11 ended the service of Atef Naddaf, the minister of internal trade, and named Talal Barazi, the governor of Homs province in central Syria, as the new minister.

The decision comes against the backdrop of the bad economic situation in the country and the skyrocketing prices that couldn't so far be controlled.

Barazi, who assumed the post of Homs governor in 2013, is a Syrian businessman who holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the Damascus University. He has also run several business projects in the country.

A Syrian man carries packs of food on a street in Damascus, capital of Syria, on June 7, 2020. Syrians have been complaining about the skyrocketing prices amid a tough economic situation. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

Syrians shop at a store in Damascus, capital of Syria, on June 7, 2020. Syrians have been complaining about the skyrocketing prices amid a tough economic situation. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

A Syrian shops at a store in Damascus, capital of Syria, on June 7, 2020. Syrians have been complaining about the skyrocketing prices amid a tough economic situation. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

Syrians shop at a store in Damascus, capital of Syria, on June 7, 2020. Syrians have been complaining about the skyrocketing prices amid a tough economic situation. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

A Syrian withdraws cash from an ATM in Damascus, capital of Syria, on June 7, 2020. Syrians have been complaining about the skyrocketing prices amid a tough economic situation. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)