Repercussions of coronavirus: bread crisis re-emerges in regime-held areas amid insane increase of foodstuff prices

Bread crisis has aggravated again in regime-held areas as all areas experience lack of bread and unprecedented high prices of foodstuff, along with a sharp fall in exchange rate of the Syrian pound.

This drop in the Syrian pound’s value follows the spread of the novel coronavirus around the world, which has been met in Syria by closing border crossings with Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, affecting negatively on the routine of people who depend on such crossings to bring in basic supplies.

From far southern Syria to Aleppo province, people have to wait in long lines for nearly two hours to get only one bundle of bread. Reasons behind this crisis also attributed to the low production because of the Syrian regime’s inability to secure flour.

In many occasions, people are forced to buy a bundle of bread in black markets for 500 SYL up to 750 SYL, at a time when work has been suspended almost completely against the backdrop of tight measures imposed by the Syrian regime to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

On the other hand, low salaries of civilians in these areas make them unable to secure their necessities as foodstuff prices have been risen to unprecedented level as foodstuff monopolized by merchants, while the regime department of supply fails to control black markets.

It is noteworthy that the regime-controlled areas suffer from internal crises intensify from time to time, including shortage of fuel, bread, infant formula and others, while no workable solution looms on the horizon still in the shadow of economic collapse.

Furthermore, congestion during getting bread conflicts with the regime’s claims of imposing precautionary measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus.