Enab Baladi – Jana al-Issa

Detergent seller Anwar al-Hussein feels confused after discovering that the material he imported for producing detergents does not meet the specifications agreed upon with the Turkish trader. He is unable to act on it; he cannot return it to the trader nor can he use it in his manufacturing.

Al-Hussein, who has been in the detergent manufacturing business for 30 years, states that most detergent producers are repeatedly subjected to fraud from Turkish factories that supply them with semi-processed raw materials that have a very high impurity percentage, contrary to what was agreed upon. Once the order arrives and is accepted, it cannot be returned to the Turkish producer, and there is no entity to protect traders and advocate for their rights in this regard.

Detergent producers in Idlib suffer from a severe shortage of the raw materials on which the industry relies, difficulty in securing alternatives, and attempts to smuggle some materials, leading to fraud and exploitation in prices.

Fraudulent materials

Washing powders are considered one of the most critical products from detergent factories due to high demand in local markets compared to other items, and this powder production primarily relies on the bleaching agent and effective granules that are heavily mixed with salt.

Al-Hussein clarified to Enab Baladi that the substances sulfamic acid and tripoly represent 95% of the raw materials used by detergent factories, which they import from factories located in Turkey.

Al-Hussein added that traders try to communicate with Turkish factories to request these materials without the presence of salt, but the factories supply them contrary to the agreed specifications.

The use of these salt-mixed materials leads to “non-compliance of our products with the standard specifications set by the relevant authorities,” as the presence of salt is considered a type of fraud, according to al-Hussein.

For his part, Karam Karam, a detergent manufacturer, stated that 80% of the imported raw materials have incorrect concentrations; he noted that he imports raw materials with a salt percentage not exceeding 5%, but after being brought in through the border and analyzed, it turns out that their salt percentage is 40%.

According to Karam, there are products in the market from Egypt, but their prices are extremely high, reaching $900 per ton, while the price of Turkish materials is $300. Chinese products cannot be imported because these materials do not withstand long maritime transport and deteriorate over time.

Karam added, “In the past, we used to obtain these materials from Syrian factories,” such as the Sulfamic factory belonging to Madar detergent company and the Sana factory in Damascus, both of which produce high-quality raw materials for detergent manufacturing.

Low quality

The Turkish side prevents the entry of some types of raw materials for detergent manufacturing, claiming that these materials are used in military industries. Therefore, detergent producers seek alternatives through smuggling, which results in poor quality of detergents in Idlib.

The president of the artisan detergent association in Idlib, Youssef Aidan, said that some essential materials for detergent manufacturing “are forbidden for us to import from the Turkish side,” such as liquid chlorine, sodium hypochlorite, and acetic acid.

The association’s president added to Enab Baladi that an alternative solution involves smuggling alternatives for these materials, such as sodium hypochlorite with calcium hypochlorite; however, this leads to price inflation and quality deterioration, which negatively impacts the consumer.

The association has informed the Director of Industry and the Ministry of Industry in Idlib several times about this situation, explaining that the number of materials needed in northern Syria for manufacturing reaches 200 prohibited items across various industries, including food and pharmaceuticals, and there is communication with the Turkish side to resolve this issue.

The Director of Public Relations at the Economy Ministry of the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG), Mudar al-Omar, stated in a statement to Enab Baladi that raw materials for detergent manufacturing enter regularly from Turkey, claiming that all materials necessary for detergent manufacturing are available.

Al-Omar added that the government is working to regulate the quality of these materials by preventing the import of poor-quality raw materials and replacing them with suitable-quality raw materials to obtain a high-quality product.

According to al-Omar, the ministry has issued standard specifications for all types of detergents and circulated them to detergent manufacturers to obtain a high-quality product at a price commensurate with the residents, stating that any material directly harmful to consumers “we have banned and replaced with alternative materials at a similar price.”

Demands for establishing a factory

Detergent manufacturing goes through two phases: the first is the production of semi-processed materials, and then the producer completes the manufacturing process in the detergent factory. Detergent factories in Syria used to receive semi-processed materials from the Sulfamic factory belonging to the Madar company and the Sana factory in Damascus.

Manufacturer Anwar al-Hussein said, “Our main problem is obtaining semi-processed materials,” and this problem can be solved by establishing a factory in cooperation between detergent producers and the government.

For his part, the president of the artisan detergent association, Youssef Aidan, stated that it is possible to produce the essential semi-processed materials in northern Syria, as expertise and raw materials are available; however, the cost of establishing these factories is extremely high, and investors are hesitant to take such risks in the current conditions we are living in.

The ongoing war in Syria has led to weakened industrial infrastructure, a lack of a safe investment environment, and difficulty in obtaining the essential raw materials relied upon by various industries, which has hindered production processes and led to reliance on illegal means to procure raw materials, allowing manipulation of the specifications of these materials.

Unregulated imports… Quality affected

The detergent industry is not the only one suffering from the influx of low-quality raw materials, as industrialists in various fields complain of the same issue, without solutions that could reduce production costs while maintaining the quality of the final product.

The quality of raw materials directly affects the quality of final products, and if the raw materials are of poor quality, this could affect the reputation of the final product and its marketability and the overall commercial process, in addition to potential health effects of some products, as confirmed by political economy researcher Yahya al-Sayed Omar.

Regarding northern Syria in particular, there is a noticeable decline in the quality of some imported raw materials, which may be attributed to the absence of official institutions concerned with the quality of imports.

Al-Sayed Omar clarified to Enab Baladi that ensuring the quality of imported materials of various types is the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and specialized institutions in standards and measurements.

Due to the absence of such institutions in northern Syria or their reduced effectiveness, this has been reflected in the ease of importing any products regardless of their quality, according to the researcher.

Due to weak governmental oversight, low-quality raw materials may be sold at high-quality prices, and the ultimate responsibility lies with governmental institutions.

Yahya al-Sayed Omar, Researcher in political economy

Regarding the repercussions of importing low-quality materials, they extend to include economic losses represented by low-quality final products, which could tarnish the reputation of northern Syrian products, negatively affecting their marketing, in addition to pushing traders to import high-quality finished products, thus harming the manufacturing sector in the region, according to al-Sayed Omar.

Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Idlib, Anas al-Khouli, contributed to this report.