The prices of basic commodities in Aleppo have risen significantly over the past two days, with some prices reaching double the amount, following the opposition’s control over most neighborhoods in the city.
According to testimonies from Aleppo residents to Enab Baladi, the price of a 50-kilogram bag of sugar has increased from 550,000 Syrian pounds to 1,100,000 Syrian pounds.
Most other commodities in various areas of Aleppo have also seen price hikes, with the price of a liter of oil reaching 40,000 pounds after being 25,000 pounds before the military operations began.
The price of a kilogram of rice has jumped to 20,000 pounds, up from 13,000 pounds, and some vegetable prices have also doubled.
The price of a bread bundle (12 loaves) varies from area to area, according to what Enab Baladi has observed from testimonies of residents in the new neighborhoods of Aleppo in western Aleppo and the al-Bab road in the east.
The prices for a bread bundle range from 1,000 Syrian pounds to 6,000 pounds in some bakeries, while some organizations operating in northwestern Syria distribute bread for free in certain neighborhoods of Aleppo.
The crowding at bakeries has decreased compared to the early days of the opposition’s takeover of Aleppo, after announcing the opening of all public bakeries, totaling 16 across the city.
Ahmad Abdul Malik, the director of the Public Institution for Grain Trade and Manufacturing in the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG), stated on Tuesday, December 3, that 143 private bakeries will also supply the neighborhoods of Aleppo with bread to meet the needs of the residents.
The price increases come amid a decline in the value of the Syrian currency against the US dollar following the military operations that the city of Aleppo witnessed, which ended with the opposition’s control over most neighborhoods on November 30.
As of today, Wednesday, December 4, the exchange rate of the dollar has reached 25,000 Syrian pounds for selling, compared to 23,000 Syrian pounds for buying, according to the S-P Today website.
Previously, the buying rate did not exceed 15,000 Syrian pounds before the start of the battles declared by the opposition factions during the “Deterrence of Aggression” operation.
A cautious return
The city has witnessed a cautious return of residents after the opposition factions established control over most of the province and reactivated the institutions, amidst calls from the Military Operations Administration for employees of service departments to return to work.
The Salvation Government is taking consecutive measures aimed at securing government institutions in Aleppo, according to its statements.
On Wednesday, the head of the Salvation Government, Mohammad al-Bashir, visited Aleppo to oversee the reactivation of its institutions.
He noted a “strong response” from government employees to the directives of the Salvation Government to resume their work in their offices, reflecting their desire to contribute to the city’s reconstruction and development, as he expressed.
The opposition factions entered the neighborhoods of Aleppo on November 30, after three days of launching the “Deterrence of Aggression” operation against regime forces in northern Syria.