Two shipments of wheat, totaling around 50,000 tons, arrived in Syria two days ago at the ports of Latakia and Tartus, at a time when Syria is suffering from a drop in production rates to less than one-fifth of its needs.

The Director of Internal Trade in Latakia and Tartus, Abdul Wahab al-Safar, stated to Enab Baladi that the recent shipments carry more than 50,000 tons of wheat and are imports via private companies.

Al-Safar added that these shipments are part of a series of contracts, noting that there are ships coming soon loaded with wheat to meet the needs.

The Director of Internal Trade confirmed that Syria is suffering from scarcity due to drought, and there are not enough strategic reserves, leading to a greater dependence on imports to compensate for the deficit.

The grains will be distributed to various areas in Syria according to actual prioritization of needs, according to al-Safar.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) stated in a report issued in early April that wheat production in Syria this current season is expected to be below the average production of previous years, and that dry weather conditions and security concerns are hindering grain production in 2025.

Production is 19% of the needs

Saeed Ibrahim, Director of the Agricultural Economy and Planning Directorate at the Ministry of Agriculture, said to Enab Baladi in May that this year’s estimated wheat production, according to the general condition of the crop (good, average, poor), reached 772,838 tons. It is expected that production estimates will decrease due to the removal of most dryland areas from the estimates, in addition to part of it being allocated for grazing (as it has not reached the harvesting stage due to weak plant growth).

The official from the Ministry of Agriculture indicated that Syria’s wheat needs are estimated at 4 million tons (according to the population, which is estimated to be 22.5 million people in 2020), thus the estimated production represents 19% of the needs, meaning that there is a shortage of around 80% in securing the population’s requirements.