Hashtag-Falak Al-Quwatli
Olives and olive oil have always been essential in the food of the Syrians, given that they are included in most dishes and meals. It is estimated that the Syrian family annually needed about 60 liters of oil as supplies, in addition to tens of kilograms of olive seeds, depending on the size of the family, but the high price of Oil and olives may prompt many families to change their diet.
Oil trader Ali Hammad expects, in a statement to the hashtag, that the current year’s olive season will decline by about 30% compared to last year, attributing the reasons to the high temperatures this summer and the poor ability of farmers to irrigate olive trees with well water.
“Last year, despite the abundance of production, the price of a kilogram of oil exceeded 17,000 pounds,” he says, noting that export will reduce supply in the local market, which will push prices up.
As for the citizens who used to supply oil and olives until the arrival of the next season, it seems that their options have become limited, as Ms. Sumaya tells hashtag that the absence of olive oil from their tables has become a normal thing in light of the high prices, which have become high, and to solve this problem, “I and other housewives resorted to mix vegetable oil with olive oil, so that we can prepare foods that need oil,” she says, noting that she is on her way to dispensing with vegetable oil after its price has risen as well.
The price of oil varies from one governorate to another, according to its abundance and quality. The price of a tank of oil in Homs reached 200,000 Syrian pounds, while in Masyaf it ranged between 250 and 300,000 pounds, and in Latakia it ranged from 150 to 200,000 Syrian pounds.
The price of a kilo of green olives exceeded 3000 Syrian pounds in most Syrian governorates.
In the face of this difficult reality, the Syrians turn to vegetable oils because their cost is lower, despite the high prices and their decline in recent times, but it remains more expensive than olive oil, which many dispensed with despite its importance as a main source in diets and sometimes treatment.
The Director of the Olive Office at the Ministry of Agriculture, Abeer Jawhar, pointed out that olive production decreased this season by about 24 percent from the previous season, and expected that the amount of oil production would be about 103,000 tons.
To receive notification of the most important news and urgent matters, join our telegram channel through the link