Syria threatens bakers with prison for selling wrong amount of bread

The Syrian regime of President Bashar Al-Assad has threatened to imprison anyone who sells an amount of bread different from the stated rations imposed by the authorities, as a shortage of essentials and a bread crisis continues throughout the country.

According to the Syrian opposition news outlet Zaman Al-Wasl, Syria’s Minister of Local Trade and Consumer Protection Talal Barazi has stated that any vendor who sells packs weighing less than the set standard of 1,100 grammes per pack will be liable to face a prison sentence of up five years of hard labour.

Barazi stressed the harsh measures as he claimed that the regime sells subsidised flour to state-approved bakeries at the cost of 40,000 Syrian pounds ($78) per tonne, despite it initially costing up to 650,000 Syrian pounds ($1,268). A pack of bread, he explained, is therefore sold to customers for 100 Syrian pounds ($0.20) instead of the actual price of 680 Syrian pounds ($1.33).

READ: Desperate Syrians run after bread truck as regime closes bakeries

The subsidisation implemented by the regime and its control of bakeries is part of its rationing strategy through a ‘smart card system’ in the territories under its control, and comes as a consequence of the severe shortage of essentials in Syria such as wheat and fuel.

Prices of such essentials have sharply increased, and the shortage has prompted the authorities to import large supplies of lower-quality wheat from Russia. That plan has reportedly faltered recently, as Russian exporters cancelled some of their supplies to Syria, causing the regime’s wheat storage to run even lower.

Although the regime blames the economic crisis and shortage of essentials on international sanctions, its opponents have blamed the regime and its rampant corruption and monopolisation of industries for being the primary cause.

READ: The US Caesar sanctions are a punishment not a solution for Syria