Syrian gov't blames soaring prices for economic sanctions

Source:Xinhua Published: 2012-12-31 23:07:00

The rate of annual inflation in Syria has hit the level of 48 percent till September 2012, dramatically raising the prices of all consumer commodities and eating up roughly half of the citizen's income, at a time when the government is pointing an accusing finger at the worldwide economic sanctions.

A recent report issued by the Central Bureau for Statistics revealed that the index of consumer prices for the month of September 2012 has reached 220.28 percent, recording an increase of 16.42 points over that of August 2012 and an annual inflation rate of 48.10 percent, meaning thus that prices increased by 120 percent nationwide.

Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi blamed Monday the soaring prices for the "unjust" economic sanctions which most regional and European countries have imposed on Syria to accelerate the collapse of the Syrian government.

He told a Cabinet meeting that the sanctions have impeded imports and exports and "directly affected the Syrian citizen's life," adding that the government is feverishly working to ensure people's requirements.

Halqi added that the Syrian oil sector has been subject to " unjust penalties and terrorist attacks" that have had bad repercussions on the output and import operations, stressing that there would be soon enough amount of diesel fuel and gas.

According to Syrian experts' estimates, the unemployment rate in Syria has increased to 40 percent in 2012.

Mazhar Youssef, an economist, told the pro-government al-Watan newspaper that "It's normal for unemployment rates to increase owing to the protracted crisis, especially at the private sector that has been severely hit, most notably the tourism, transport and industrial sectors."

He indicated that the Syrian economy was basically suffering even before the eruption of the crisis.

Youssef said that the growing unemployment rate has driven up the poverty rates, explaining the difficulty for the government to address these high rates before the return of stability which is the main condition for any economic activity.

Unemployment in 2012 has highly increased driven by the current circumstances. It has recorded 8.6 percent in 2010 and 14.9 percent at the end of 2011 out of the labor force, which is estimated at 5.8 million.

Observers have appealed on the government to create jobs to alleviate the suffering of the jobless, warning that the unemployment rate would otherwise further increase in the coming months.

Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Protection Qadri Jamil stressed that whoever bets on the economic crunch to topple the government is " wrong."

He told al-Mayadeen TV channel that the 21-month-long crisis in Syria would not be resolved but through "national reconciliation."

The government has hectically worked to alleviate the devastating burdens of the economic sanctions on the Syrian citizens through its subsidy of main food items and oil derivations, mainly diesel fuel which Syrians use for heating.

The Central Bank of Syria has kept on its policy of intervention to maintain a stable price of the Syrian pound in exchange of the US dollar.

Over the past three weeks, the pound has sharply declined and traded at 102 against the dollar in the black market.

Two days ago, the bank has taken a series of measures and sold big amounts of hard currency in the black market, at a price less by 10 percent of that at the market, to bring back the exchange rate to its normal level. It is now trading at 92 pound to the dollar in the black market.

Posted in: Mid-East

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