DAMASCUS: Syria’s wheat production is expected to more than double this year, authorities said, bolstered by heavier rains and the state’s recapture of a northeastern breadbasket region from Kurdish forces — but demand has grown in parallel.
The agriculture ministry estimates a harvest between 2.3 million and 2.5 million metric tons of wheat this year, senior ministry official Ahmed Jalal Al-Ahmad told Reuters. Last year’s production stood at around 900,000 metric tons.
“We were blessed with a bountiful harvest season,” Ahmad said.
Production increased partly “due to a season of heavy rainfall,” a surprise turnaround after last year’s historic drought slashed wheat production and threatened a food crisis.
Ahmad said the harvest projection was also higher because the count included contributions from northern and northeastern provinces, held for years by Kurdish authorities but now merged into state control after an offensive by Syrian government troops.
