SSG

By the middle of last year, inflation had already reached 55 percent, according to a new consumer price index issued by an independent Syrian organisation. Meanwhile, the government has lifted one of the last tools it used to keep a lid on prices, risking further price increases.

To further cement its governance, the Syrian Salvation Government, the political arm of the Islamist Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, has begun issuing compulsory identification cards for residents in areas under its control. The cards are required to receive essential services and to conduct any transaction.  

The Syrian Salvation Government, the political arm of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham that controls most of the Idlib governorate, has restructured the lucrative oil and mobile telecommunications sectors to its benefit.

Although the microfinance sector in North Syria remains small, several microfinance institutions and lenders continue to issue new projects and programmes to reduce the local population’s dependency on humanitarian aid.

Turkey recently sent a delegation of Syrian and Arab businessmen and experts to North Syria to visit several development projects, explore potential investment opportunities, and attend a conference organised by the Turkish-backed Syrian Interim Government. Meanwhile, local media has shed light on several large-scale real estate projects recently inaugurated in Idlib in areas under the control of the Syrian Salvation Government, the political arm of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham. 

Wheat and barley production has declined significantly across all of Syria for the second year in a row due to climate change, low water levels in the Euphrates River, and production input shortages, according to official data. This season's wheat production is 75 percent lower than pre-crisis volumes.