The automatic bakery in Ras al-Ain, northwest of al-Hasakah, resumed working at its full production capacity after facing a crippling crisis and a shortage of bread, which has hit the region for a month.

The Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) sent an initial batch of 100 tons of flour after it had been delayed due to an annual inventory process of the flour entering the city every February.

28,000 bundles daily

A source from the automatic bakery in Ras al-Ain (who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak) explained to Enab Baladi that the production capacity reached 28,000 bundles daily in the past two days, after it had not exceeded 15,000 bundles of bread, due to the lack of flour quantities in the bakery.

He said that the weight of a bundle is 1100 grams for nine loaves, with a price of three Turkish liras (about 1,500 Syrian pounds).

He mentioned that production will exceed 30,000 bundles daily, which would cover the needs of the countryside and the city, especially with more flour quantities expected to arrive in the coming days.

The population of the Ras al-Ain area is 115,000 people, who primarily depend on one sector, which is agriculture, followed by animal resources, and the wages of a worker do not exceed two US dollars per day (equivalent to 30,000 Syrian pounds).

During the bread crisis, bundles were sold on stalls and by street vendors at prices that reached 17,000 Syrian pounds per bundle, more than tenfold the price at the bakery.

The bread crisis eases after flour becomes available in Ras al-Ain – March 18, 2024 (Enab Baladi)

The need is 600 tons monthly

The spokesman for the local council in Ras al-Ain, Ziad Maliki, told Enab Baladi that AFAD sent two batches to the automatic bakery, each weighing 50 tons, on March 16, following a month-long interruption and the end of the inventory process carried out by the organization.

He explained that the automatic bakery began distributing full shares to the residents of the countryside and the city, where the countryside received their shares at a 100% rate in the past two days, and added that AFAD would supply the bakery with the required amounts of flour, which is 600 tons monthly without interruption.

The automatic bakery in Ras al-Ain is the only one capable of meeting the bread needs of the population, while the other small bakeries are limited in their production, with their maximum capacity not exceeding 3,000 bundles per day.

The bread crisis eases after flour becomes available in Ras al-Ain – March 18, 2024 (Enab Baladi)

In 2021, the situation in Ras al-Ain significantly deteriorated when a similar crisis occurred, lasting for over two weeks, due to the shortage of flour quantities from AFAD organization to the city.

The Syrian pound is the currency circulated in the region, but its troubled situation and unprecedented decline have burdened the people, while the second currency is the Turkish lira (not widely circulated) due to the city’s proximity to the Turkish border, and the third is the US dollar.

Each US dollar is equivalent to 14,000 Syrian pounds, and the exchange rate for the Turkish currency is 33 liras.