Minister Salem: No basic material will be cut off from the market, and there are measures to mitigate the impact of rising prices globally

Damascus-SANA

The Minister of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection, Dr. Amr Salem, said that Syria is affected by the rise in international prices, but the ministry is working on taking a set of measures to reduce this impact, and no basic material will be cut off from the market, but there must be some price increases locally.

Minister Salem explained on his personal Facebook page that Syria is affected by the rise in international prices for imported materials, especially as it imports in small and successive quantities due to the unilateral coercive economic measures imposed on the country, which in turn affects the number of ships and ships that reach the ports, noting that the effects also affect products. Local meat, chicken and agricultural products, because most of the feed, fertilizers and pesticides are imported.

Minister Salem said that the ministry has taken a set of measures to limit the impact of the global situation on food, including seizing a large number of feed factories and their warehouses and food commodity stores that monopolize the materials and referring them to the judiciary, indicating that the penalties in this case include large financial fines and imprisonment of up to 7 years for serious violations.

And the Minister of Internal Trade indicated that the ministry prices each factory or importer according to the rates determined by the law for each new import of materials and according to the actual cost, and everyone who adheres to the fair price is supported by the government by increasing the offering of its materials on the market, and those who do not adhere to it take the harshest measures against him.

Minister Salem clarified that the Syrian trade halls are completely designed to serve the citizens and will sell basic items such as foodstuffs, detergents and tissues at prices lower than the market by about 10 to 20 percent, with an emphasis on direct purchase from farmers and an increase in the quantities of vegetable oil, sugar, rice and bulgur.

Minister Salem attributed the limitation of selling vegetable oil in Syria to trade to messages only, with the aim of preventing traders from obtaining oil from the halls instead of the citizens, indicating that work is underway to change the “bad situation” of some halls and to offer chicken in them at a price lower than the market in the coming month of Ramadan.

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