The Syrian government to cancel subsidy for sugar and rice
Economic sources in Damascus said that the government of the prime minister Muhammad Mustafa Miro is inclined towards removing the government's subsidy to rice and sugar prices in the framework of the efforts to strengthen the local economy and ensure extra financial sources after the increase in the state's employees at 25%.
To this effect, the Syrian ministry of supply seeks to limit the negative results of these steps on the country's 17 million population who used to buy the two items at prices less than what it cost the government. This will be made by selling the two items by the " general company for retail company" at a very marginal profits for the interests of citizen."
The cost of increasing salaries in Syria, a process which was started on September cost almost 19.6 billion Syrian pounds of which 18 billion Syrian pounds for workers in the state and the rest for the retired.
Similarly, the government pays 11 billion Syrian pounds to back certain consumers items including 30 billion Syrian pounds for waters, mazout (fuel) and energy ( 1 US $ = 50 Syrian pounds ). According to the support system provided by the government, each citizen is able o buy 1.5 Kg of sugar every month at a price of 9 Syrian pounds for each Kg against 16 Syrian pounds the government pays, besides half kilo of rice at a price of 9 Syrian pounds for each Kg against 18 SP for its actual cost.
The government in September stopped selling rice while individual share of sugar was reduced to half a kilo.
The Syrian official dailies ( al-Baath, al-Thawra and Tishreen ) said on Thursday that the ministry of supply will continue to distribute one KG of sugar per month in November as the consumption of the Syrian average is one of the highest in the world, adding that Syrian consumes some 600,000 tons of sugar and 250,000 tons of rice annually.
Finance ministry sources said that "the ministry is working to provide rice as acceptable prices after a shortage occurred in his commodity in the local market and as many traders exploited the condition to make illegal gains."
The deputy minister of finance Aref Haj Youssef said that the " general company for retail trade will carry out this operation.
However, western experts expect the canceling of rice and sugar subsidy will contribute to " eliminating certain obstacles before signing a partnership agreement with the European Union as negotiations to this effect have been made, as well as this process will facilitate Syria's joining the World Trade Organization WTO which the Syrian government still studies and precisely assesses before taking a decision to this end."