Beirut: Hike in the domestic production of wheat would help Syria to lower imports to half as much wheat in 2023 as the previous year, said Minister of Agriculture Mohammad Hassan Qatna, according to reuters.
Syria produced around 4 million tonnes of wheat yearly before the war erupted in 2011 which was sufficient to cater to domestic demand as well as export to neighbouring countries. The production was affected in recent years due to the country losing the northeastern region which was a traditional breadbasket and the unseasonal rainfall.
“Rainfall at the beginning of the season was delayed this year but the rainfall distribution was good and all the planned areas were cultivated,” said Qatna.
Syria had imported around 1.5 million tonnes of wheat last year, as per the data from Refinitiv.
Syria imports most of its wheat from Russia.
