Reports | 25 05 2020
اThe prices of popular foods have experienced a sharp rise of more than 10-fold in Syria, due to the current circumstances and the deterioration of economic conditions in the country. A shawarma sandwich in Damascus costs as much as 350 [Syrian] Pounds, whereas the average price five years ago was 35 Pounds. A falafel sandwich’s “official” price is 200 Pounds, after not exceeding 20 Pounds.
We Have Got Used To it
In a poll of a sample of Damascus residents from all classes conducted by Rozana, about the high price of popular cuisine, the first answers we received were: "We have gotten used to it; that is only normal; crisis and exploitation; why not food? The price of everything else has risen—only air has not."
University student Samah, a resident of the capital, says: "There still are sandwiches at cheap prices. Those are the “street stand” sandwiches. But the possibility of catching an intestinal disease is quite large; whatever one saves, will be more than compensated to cure oneself.” She adds: “The cause of these high prices is the absence of any monitoring and lack of uniform prices. We constantly hear how the Consumer Protection [Bureau] issues decision to conform to the official pricing—whether in shops, the market, or the restaurants. But these decisions fall on deaf ears, as the prices remain searingly high."
Damascus residents complain of the moody pricing in food establishments—to the point where prices have become wholly unreasonable; amid the absence of strict laws that may serve as a deterrent to the owners of these establishments.
“Why even go to a restaurant or a fast food place? Even school snack prices are exorbitant. We all know they are thieves—well before the crisis; what else would they do now? There is no monitoring, and there is not one restaurant that does not make huge profit,” says Youssef, a Damascus high school student.
Price According to Area
The words of Samah and Youssef were partially convincing to Osama—that is the lack of control and rising prices. But he adds that prices are also subject to area: A falafel sandwich in al-Tiliani, in the capital’s center, can fetch up to 200 Pounds; whereas the same sandwich would be priced between 100 and 125 Pounds in [the more popular] al-Midan area.
Adds Osama: "We can now still consider falafel a popular food in Syria. Shawarma, however, has become a distant dream to many nowadays. It is priced at 300 pounds and is a heavy burden for anyone—particularly those who have a family."
Worker Abu Zuhair, a resident in the Sinaa’a area, however believes that the rise in the prices “poor-man sandwiches—that is, of falafel and fried vegetables," was not at all surprising. The rise was gradual and non-traumatic, explaining: “Customer traffic of falafel shops has not changed dramatically; despite rising prices, it still remains reasonably accessible."
Foul and Fatteh—On the Road to Extinction!
The Foul [Fava Bean] dish to which Syrians—particularly Damascenes—are accustomed, especially on Friday, is currently threatened with completely disappearing from their tables due to the prices. The price of a kilo of beans has risen to 200 Pounds.
“The customary weekly Foul or Fatteh meal now requires much planning. Last time we prepared it, it cost us nearly one thousand Pounds. If that is the cost of breakfast; then what about lunch or dinner—which most families have simply struck off their meal lists?" Asks Umm Osama, a housewife residing in Damascus. She adds: “To hell with it if so, I say!"
The thousand Pounds to which Umm Osama refers, is for a meal of Foul for four: "A kilo and a half of beans, 300 Pounds; a box of yoghurt, 160 Pounds; tahini, 200 Pounds; tomatoes, 225 Pounds; not to mention oil, pickles, and bread" Umm Osama explains.
Official Rates
The Damascus Governorate issued on 22 December 2015, a decision which set new prices for popular foods. The price of one kilo of Hummus with 30% tahini was set at 300 Pounds; boiled fava beans at 200 Pounds; and boiled chickpeas at 200 Pounds.
The new prices are notable for their increase. A source in the Governorate whose identity is to be withheld for security reasons, considered that this new price list is a foregone conclusion and of no real general consequence; sellers have unilaterally raised their prices, without even awaiting the Governorate’s decisions.
He concludes: “Citizens have become the last concern on the list of priorities with regards to the issue of prices; the interests of traders and sellers is primary. The increasing rise of prices will continue—with or without a decision. All the decision has done is to offer a legal cover for the coming price increase."
