Enab Baladi – Ras al-Ain
Cotton farmers in the Ras al-Ain area in northwestern al-Hasakah are facing difficulties marketing their crop, about three months after harvesting begins, which usually starts in mid-September every year.
Farmers told Enab Baladi that it has been hard to sell cotton due to low prices and traders refusing to buy the crop at a fair price that covers production costs, forcing some farmers to sell at a loss.
The price drop has been a “devastating blow” to the farmers’ hopes, who described the season as “disastrous.” The challenges began with rising irrigation costs, the infestation of cotton worms, low production, and continued with the absence of support and traders’ monopolization.
Decline in production and prices
This year’s cotton yield ranged between 100 and 200 kilograms per dunam, down from 300 to 350 kilograms in 2023, coupled with a sharp decline in prices, as the price per ton currently did not exceed $475 (five million Syrian pounds), making it economically unfeasible to sell cotton.
In hopes of paying off his debts this year, Ahmad al-Hussein (44 years old) from the village of Hamid east of Ras al-Ain planted 20 dunams of cotton, and when he harvested the crop, he was shocked by the poor yield of only 130 kilograms per dunam.
As for the prices, they doubled his losses, with traders only offering him $450 per ton of cotton. He said he hasn’t sold the cotton yet; he left it in the warehouse until prices improve, hoping to be able to pay off part of his accumulated debts.
Salwa planted 50 dunams of cotton in her village of Ludi, but her crop was affected by the cotton worm a month before harvest, resulting in damage to 55% of her yield.
When harvesting, her land produced only 150 kilograms per dunam, an amount that does not cover the costs of farming and the solar energy project whose cost was estimated at 50 million Syrian pounds.
She told Enab Baladi that traders only offered her $440 per ton, claiming that her cotton was damaged by the worm, which spread in her field.
Farmers demanded the need for a government mechanism to sell the cotton crop at encouraging prices, in addition to compensating farmers who suffered losses this season.
According to a previous report prepared by Enab Baladi, about 20% of the cotton crop in Ras al-Ain was damaged due to the cotton worm, which was estimated to cover an area of 27 thousand dunams, as mentioned by the head of the agricultural and livestock office, Omar Hamoud.
No official market for selling
Salim al-Karim, a cotton trader from Ras al-Ain, stated that this year’s crop quality was “extremely poor,” leading to spoilage and a significant decrease in prices.
He explained that as traders, they face problems due to the lack of an official market for selling cotton in Ras al-Ain, forcing them to contract with traders in Turkey.
He added that prices change continuously from Turkish traders, complicating the selling process.
He mentioned that he has about 150 tons of cotton piled up and has been unable to sell it due to not reaching an agreement on price with traders in Turkey.
27 thousand dunams
The cotton crop is one of the main agricultural products in Ras al-Ain, where most residents rely on agriculture followed by livestock for their income.
The spokesman for the local council in Ras al-Ain, Ziad Maliki, told Enab Baladi that the area planted with cotton this year reached 27 thousand dunams.
He clarified that the decrease in cotton prices over the past three years was due to falling global prices for ginned cotton, which led to a decline in domestic prices.
He added that this decline has pushed farmers to convert their lands to rain-fed crops to reduce high costs, causing a loss of fundamental crops such as cotton, corn, and vegetables in the summer season.
Maliki urged the Syrian Interim Government (SIG), which is currently responsible for the area, to provide the necessary support to farmers to alleviate the economic burdens they are facing.
Al-Hasakah province is at the forefront of cotton production in Syria, followed by Raqqa and Deir Ezzor provinces. However, in recent years, these provinces have experienced a decline in cotton production due to security conditions, instability among farmers, and difficulties in selling the crop.
Other reasons for the decrease include the migration of farmers, rising prices of seeds and pesticides, and a shortage of water available for irrigation.
The Interim Government has not intervened to purchase the cotton crop cultivated in areas under its control, exposing farmers to losses, as they were forced to lower selling prices, with the price per ton ranging between $420 and $475, while it was between $750 and $800 in 2022.
What is most worrying for the agriculture sector in Ras al-Ain and its neighbor Tal Abyad is the desertification that has affected hundreds of thousands of dunams, in addition to land damaged by subsidence and collapses that rendered it unusable. This is exacerbated by economic factors such as rising costs of reclamation and extracting water, human factors like depletion of groundwater, and negligence from responsible authorities towards soil, farmers, and crops.