Amid rising costs for transporting goods and for getting around, some residents have cut back on their purchases or looked for cheaper alternatives, while drivers have faced lower demand despite higher operating costs.

The latest increase in fuel prices came while the governorate is still struggling to secure fuel and to get goods delivered. Traders and drivers have spoken of additional rises in the cost of doing business, which in turn have been passed on to the end consumer.

The Energy Services Directorate at Syria’s Ministry of Energy had approved an unprecedented increase in the prices of petroleum products and of household and industrial gas.

The new prices took effect on September 13. The price of a liter of Octane 95 petrol jumped to SYP 195 from SYP 152, and a liter of Octane 90 rose to SYP 185 from SYP 147, while a liter of gas oil (mazout) saw the largest relative increase, climbing to SYP 175 from SYP 125.

Afterward, Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir announced at a press conference on September 17 the introduction of several types of gas oil with different specifications and prices.

In Suweida, the price of a liter of “free-market” petrol reached about SYP 350, according to Enab Baladi’s monitoring, while a liter of gas oil settled between SYP 170 and SYP 180. Some street vendors sold it for about SYP 250 a liter, with prices varying between sellers.

Priority for Basic Needs

At the local vegetable market in Suweida city, one trader told Enab Baladi that higher transport costs and reduced supplies had fed directly into prices. He said a kilogram of eggplant for makdous (stuffed pickled eggplant) had risen from about SYP 40 to between SYP 75 and SYP 80 at present.

He added that the price rises had changed buyers’ behavior during the preserving season. Most customers now only stop to ask about prices or buy limited quantities of between 10 and 15 kilograms, and bulk purchases are limited to a few families compared with previous years.

Prices of other vegetables have also gone up. A kilogram of tomatoes reached SYP 40, having been SYP 25-30, cucumbers rose by about SYP 40 to SYP 120 per kilogram, and potatoes rose by about SYP 20 to SYP 90. Fruit prices rose by varying amounts of between SYP 50 and SYP 80. Many households have postponed buying what they need or reduced the quantities they usually store, as a result of the fall in purchasing power.

In this context, “Umm Ashraf”, a mother of three who depends on her husband’s salary as an employee, said that the constant rise in food prices had led her to replace some items she used to buy with cheaper alternatives. She noted that securing basic needs within the family budget had become the priority, even if that meant changing her usual shopping habits.

Some residents believe that any disruption to traffic on the Damascus-Suweida road quickly affects local markets.

“William al-Halabi” (a pseudonym for personal reasons), a Suweida resident, told Enab Baladi that “traders raise prices as soon as there is any interruption or difficulty in getting goods to the governorate, which in turn adds to the burden on consumers”.

Higher Prices Hit Foodstuffs

In a tour of a number of shops in Suweida, Enab Baladi found varying increases in the prices of a number of foodstuffs during September.

The price of a kilogram of basmati rice rose by about SYP 20 to SYP 260, while short-grain rice held at between SYP 130 and SYP 150 per kilogram.

A kilogram of sugar also rose by about SYP 20, to SYP 120, and a liter of vegetable oil rose to about SYP 330. By contrast, the price of mate returned to its previous level after a temporary increase.

Unlike the increases recorded for a number of foodstuffs, poultry prices fell this September. A kilogram of chicken breast cost about SYP 580, while a whole chicken ranged between SYP 380 and SYP 400.

But despite the fall in prices, Bahaa K., who owns a poultry shop in Suweida, pointed to weak buying activity, which reflects the continuing effect of residents’ reduced purchasing power on the markets.

Transport Fares Rise

Although there have been no increases on internal transport lines within Suweida city, the lines connecting the city with the towns have seen marked rises over the past weeks.

The fare on Qanawat buses rose from SYP 50 to SYP 75, while the fare for taxis on the Shahba route reached SYP 250.

Private transport services inside the city have also been affected. Maram Amer, an employee, told Enab Baladi that the car office she regularly uses, either to get her to work or to take her daughter to school, used to charge SYP 150 before raising the fare to SYP 300 after fuel prices went up.

She added that the driver “apologized to her and justified the increase by higher operating costs and the difficulty of securing fuel, which forced him to turn to the black market”.

Some transport companies between Suweida and Damascus have also raised the price of a ticket from SYP 500 to SYP 750, with promises that prices could be cut if fuel prices fall in the coming period.

Drivers Affected Too

The effects of higher fuel prices have not been limited to passengers. They have also hit those working in the transport sector. One taxi driver working near the governorate building told Enab Baladi that demand for taxis had dropped noticeably after fuel prices rose, explaining that many residents now avoid them except when necessary.

He added that a number of customers now prefer to walk or to use public transport to cut costs, and spend the money they would have paid in taxi fares on more important needs.

The driver pointed out that higher fuel prices had not necessarily increased income, since they coincided with a drop in the number of passengers, leaving many workers in the sector struggling to cover their daily operating costs.

This comes as residents complain of reduced purchasing power and higher living costs, amid fears of bigger price rises for goods in the wake of the fuel increases.

The Impact of Higher Fuel Prices

In an earlier interview with Enab Baladi, economic expert and university professor Abdulrahman Mohammad said that the transmission of the effect of higher fuel prices is explained through two main channels.

The first is the cost channel: fuel is a production input in transport, agriculture, industry and distribution, so a higher price raises the cost of transporting and producing goods.

The second channel is expectations: higher fuel costs may push traders to adopt precautionary pricing in anticipation of further rises, which widens the effect of the initial fuel price increase.

He described the effect of inflation on spending as a decline in both quantity and quality. Some households have cut their spending on meat, fruit and clothing to a bare minimum, on top of entertainment dropping out of the budgets of a wide segment of households years ago.

He believes the problem is not only one of austerity, but of households shifting from choosing what to spend on to deciding what they can do without, with a declining ability to save and plan for the future.

He proposed solutions at three levels:

• Restructuring the gas oil subsidy by tiers targeting the uses most in need.
• Compensating for part of the fall in purchasing power through gradual increases in salaries and wages.
• At the same time, tackling the root of the energy problem.

According to his proposal, this includes restarting local refineries and diversifying import sources, in order to reduce dependence on ready-made petroleum products, which are expensive.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.