May 6, 2011
 

Syria to produce 4.1 million tonnes of wheat in 2011

Syria's wheat output will increase by 33 % to more than 4.1 million tonnes this year, an official from the Ministry of Agriculture has said.

The Arab country planted wheat over a 1.88 million hectare (4.65 million acres) area this year, said Abdel Moeen Qadhamani, head of plantations production at the ministry.

In 2010, wheat output dropped 17% from the prior year to 3.08 million tonnes as the fungal disease known as yellow rust hit the crop, the Agriculture Ministry said on February 16. The government had estimated production to reach 4.5 million tonnes last year, it said.

Syria also increased the purchase price of wheat from farmers by SYP1 (US$0.02) to encourage the local production of wheat, it said. The government will now buy hard wheat at SYP21 (US$0.44) and soft wheat at SYP21.5 (US$0.45), it said.