For the past three months, Syrian industrial sector has been suffering from serious set-offs, with around 420 factories, plants and workshops being closed to major states such as Aleppo, Damascus, Latacia, Tartas and Home.
The closure follows the rise to foreign-backed extremist power led by former al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Taharil al-Shaam (HTS) in Damascus on December 8, followed by the government of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government retired after a rapid, two-week onslaught.
According to industrialist Ahmed Anka, the lack of security has made the situation worse, with unidentified gunmen plundering industrial sites like Sheikh Najar in Aleppo, Hashiya in Homs and Adora near Damascus. Furthermore, the sharp rise in unreliable electricity and diesel prices has risen to 30% since the decline in production costs that Assad was driven.
Syrian struggling manufacturers now face fierce competition from cheap foreign imports from nearby Turkey, particularly those overflowing with the country without government oversight.
ANQA added that contraband, priced at the black market exchange rate, will rely on the official central bank rate to undercut local producers, and the power of HTS-led managers will further cut companies facing rising costs.
Additionally, the economic crisis has been exacerbated by massive public sector layoffs, including the firing of 12,000 employees from Latakia and the indefinite leave of 500 workers from a typical steel product company.
A report from Syria TV shows that up to half a million state employees could face job searches as part of the HTS-led administration’s transition to a “competitive free market economy.”
“The goal is to balance private sector growth with support for the most vulnerable,” Finance Minister Basil Abdel Hannan told Reuters.
These drastic reforms, including the privatization of state-owned businesses and the removal of “ghost employees,” sparked widespread concern.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised fears that the country could fall into a trap of debt unless it begins to communicate with Syrian officials and focuses on production, exports and building dollar reserves.
“Syrians should do everything possible to avoid the IMF debt traps and the debt traps of other lenders. Whether they are states or financial institutions, they must strive to avoid the mistakes of the country that prioritizes production, exports and controlling their own dollar reserves,” the Qatar Outlet New Arab warned last month.
SD/presstv