Syria's Minister of Agriculture, Mohammad Hassan Qatana, announced on Monday that the country will import half the amount of wheat it imported last year due to an expected increase in local production in 2023. He noted that "the quantities to be imported this year will equal fifty percent of what Syria imported in previous years, thus this is considered a good achievement."
In an interview with Reuters, he explained that "this year, rainfall was slightly delayed at the beginning of the season, but all planned areas were cultivated, and the rains came with a good distribution and almost irrigated throughout the agricultural season. Therefore, the winter crop's production was very excellent, and we are optimistic that it will be slightly higher than planned because the weather conditions were ideal."
Qatana added, "The overall production is considered to be slightly less than the need because some areas in the northern region were not cultivated, and the entire cultivated areas yielded well." He further stated, "Of course, when all of the Syrian Arab lands return to stability as they were, we will be able to return to developing our production and achieving self-sufficiency, as Syria had, in the pre-war period, reached a production of more than 4.5 million tons every year."
Wheat production in Syria has declined since the outbreak of the war in 2011, raising concerns about food security in a country where the United Nations states that "needs have reached unprecedented levels." The Russian attack on Ukraine further darkened the situation as global wheat prices surged since the war began in February 2022. However, this year, Damascus anticipates a promising season due to the amount and distribution of rains throughout the year, which contributed to irrigating the season in a regular manner.
