Merchant: Central Bank of Syria will develop a new mechanism to finance imports
A member of the "Damascus Chamber of Commerce" Hassan Azqoul explained that the import licenses have not stopped but their financing has been stopped, indicating that the "Central Bank of Syria" will develop in the coming days a new mechanism to finance imports, and will participate in the drafting of the decision.
Azkoul added in his interview with Radio "Melody", that the crisis in Lebanon created a problem locally, because the resident in Beirut is taking the dollar and foreign exchange from Syria.
"But today we have seen a breakthrough in the Lebanese-Syrian border, where banks and streets have been opened, which will certainly reflect an improvement in the market and a decline in the dollar."
The government finances the import of basic materials at the official dollar rate of 435 pounds, and the list included 41 basic items, before the Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers, Imad Khamis, agreed at the end of September 2019 to cut the list in half.
Recently, the Secretary of the Union of Syrian Chambers of Commerce, Mohamed Hamsho, stressed that the financing of imports must be completely stopped, pointing out that the matter has reached a degree that can be described as a “theft described” and benefited from the importer who is pricing on the black market price.
In July 2019, the Ministry of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection obliged private sector importers funded in the official dollar to deliver 15% of their imports to public sector institutions, including the Syrian Trade Corporation, at a cost rate and funding ratio.
The basic substances on which the instructions were applied were identified as sugar, rice, tea and coffee, processed and unprocessed mate, canned (tuna and sardine), oils and margarine, and subsequently modified.
Traders objected to the decision because, according to them, they do not get official financing until months after the application is made, or finance is only part of the imports because banks are unable to cover the entire demand.
Traders also pay the difference of currency conversion to the currency of the country of import, that is, the official dollar is not imported, but up to more than 500 pounds.
Syria Economic News
