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Syria Agriculture
Agriculture
remains a vital sector of the Syrian Economy;
supplying necessary products for the industrial sector and employing
over 25% of the labor force. The government’s revitalization
efforts have cast a new light on the sector which has continued
to produce bumper crops. In 1992, the agriculture sector captured
29.8% of GDP; a 10% increase over 1970. Four consecutive bumper
cereal harvests in 1991-1994 and a 10.2% annual increase in agricultural
production between 1987-1992 illustrates the concentrated effort
the Syrian government has made in the mid-eighties and early nineties
to revitalize the agricultural sector.
The enactment of Decree #10 in 1986, which allowed joint sector
companies to be established with a minimum 25% stake to be held
by the public sector, is part of this effort. Pricing, production,
and marketing of fruits and vegetables has been placed in private
hands. Liberalization measures since 1991 include the lifting of
subsidies for seeds, pesticides, and the reduction of the fertilizer
subsidy. In addition, confidence generated by Investment
Law #10 has led to over 180 new agro-business companies
being approved.
Cotton, grown on irrigated land, is Syria’s
premier cash crop. In addition to providing employment and income in agriculture, it also
has provided Syria with much needed hard currency. Until 1974, when superseded by oil as
the largest Syrian export, cotton accounted for approximately one-third of Syria’s
total exports. It now accounts for an estimated 50% of agriculture’s contribution to
GDP. Nearly half of the cotton ginned is used for local consumption by the largely
export-oriented clothing and textile industry.
To boost wheat production (wheat and barley
account for nearly two-third’s of Syria’s cultivated area), Syria is building
the latest of its 140 dams. Expected completion date of the Bassel dam on the Khabour
river in the fertile northeast is June 1997. The dam’s waters will feed over 125,000
acres of grainlands and will help to stabilize wheat production by decreasing its
dependence on rainfall. The combination of price control liberalization and recent
improvements in irrigation projects have led to vast improvements in wheat yields. Syria
has nearly doubled its wheat production since 1990. Syria produced a 4.08 million ton
bumper crop in 1995, up from 3.7 million tons in 1994. The target for 1996 is set at 4.19
million tons. The rise of wheat yields has allowed Syria to export this commodity abroad.
In 1995, Syria launched a five-year agricultural
program that aims to boost production by 50% by the year 2000. As part of this plan, Syria
expects to increase olive production by approximately 30% to 570,000 tons in 1996 from
435,000 tons in 1995. Syria is the second olive exporter in the Arab world after Tunisia
and sixth in the world after Spain, Greece, Tunisia, Italy, and Turkey. Other crops
include sugar beets, tobacco, and fruits.
For More Information About Syria's Economy go to the Syrian Economy Website at http://www.syrecon.org. Or
contact the proper Ministry.
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