The bakeries and grains department of the Syrian Salvation Government affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, reduced March 5 the weight of a bundle of bread by 100 grams, down to 650 grams, pricing the eight loaves at 5 Turkish liras ($0.34).

The move follows a hike in the price of flour imported from Turkey in tandem with the rise in the global price of fuels in light of the Russian war on Ukraine. The price rise in Idlib also hit several imported items such as sugar, vegetable oils, ghee and grains. All this comes amid a plummeting exchange rate of the Turkish lira against the US dollar.

Sugar, a basic baking staple, became almost nonexistent in Idlib before the Salvation Government announced that a new batch of products would soon arrive in the area, but at new prices. The government cited a global crisis and the expiry of some contracts. Thus, it seems HTS has created a crisis in the area and fabricated its solution in a maneuver aimed to inject some funds into its treasury.

HTS restricts the import of sugar to its areas of control to three traders close to it. It also forces them to buy the sugar HTS imports through other traders in the Turkish city of Mersin — which is then transported to Bab al-Hawa crossing — at the prices it specifies, with a $200 per ton difference from the original price.