Diesel crisis could bring machinery to a standstill in Syria
Diesel is now being sold on the blackmarket as Syria faces a crisis in the supply of the fuel. According to Reuters, the government has increased the price of the subsidised fuel by 25% as Bashar al-Assad’s military forces continue their assualt on rebel strongholds and cities. Diesel shipments from Russia and other countries have reportedly fallen […]
Prices for gasoil have soared as the Syrian currency weakens and fuel drys up
Diesel is now being sold on the blackmarket as Syria faces a crisis in the supply of the fuel.
According to Reuters, the government has increased the price of the subsidised fuel by 25% as Bashar al-Assad’s military forces continue their assualt on rebel strongholds and cities.
Diesel shipments from Russia and other countries have reportedly fallen in recent weeks raising the possibility that the country could soon run out of the fuel.
Syria is facing major fuel and food shortages, and there are worries that there will not be enough diesel to power the heavy machinery vital for the upcoming wheat harvest.
Syria consumes 7.5l billion per year and according to state news agency SANA subsidies cost the government $4.3 billion. A litre of gasoil is now 31 cents per litre and with the Syrian pound plummeting and prices soaring, many Syrian nationals are turning to the blackmarket.
SANA said the government claims it is reducing the subsidy to curb smuggling in the country.
The vice president of the Damascus chamber of industry, Essam Zamrick told Reuters that he was supporting the price increase.
“Gasoil has to be liberalised because it’s already being sold at higher prices and those who have been benefiting from this are people in the black market, so let this increase go to the state,” he said.
