Baladi News – Daraa (Huzaifa Halawa)
Several bakeries supplying bread to the residents of the liberated towns of Daraa countryside went out of work due to the depletion of flour stockpiles as no amounts have been entered into the governorate for nearly ten days.
As a result of the explosion of “al-Rukban” camp, which killed eight Jordanian soldiers, Jordan shut down its borders with Syria, preventing the entry of any flour ever sense.
Jordan is the main source of flour that feeds the bakeries of the southern liberated areas in Syria to cover the daily needs of bread for residents.
Abu Ali Ajaj, Head of the Local Council of Saham town, said to Baladi News “We had not received any amounts of flour for three weeks, during which we had relied on our stockpiles until they were depleted. Then, we resorted to purchasing flour through the local council and supplying it to the bakeries so that bread can be made available to citizens. However, we do not have any possibilities to provide the needs of the bakeries now, which caused them to stop working.”
Engineer Riad al-Rabdawi, director of the grains' establishment in Daraa, explained the situation of flour mills in the governorate saying “The full production of a modern mill is 45 tons of flour per day. However, it supplies us with 35 tons a day only, which are not enough for covering the needs of the citizens in the liberated areas in the south of Syria, which are approximately 80 tons per day. There are also old stone mills supporting the modern ones with a productivity of 3 to 5 tons for each mill.”
Reporting the problems faced by the grains' establishment, al-Rabdawi said, “Work is underway to install two new mills, which are expected to cover the residents’ daily needs of flour enabling us to achieve self-sufficiency. However, we have difficulties in bringing these mills into the liberated areas in addition to providing spare parts.”
Regarding the recent shortage of flour because of denying its entry from Jordan, al-Rabdawi said, “The problem is temporary, and the entry of flour would be resumed immediately after the lesser Bairam. Currently, we are using the modern mill as well as several private ones in Muzayrib to cover the current shortages.”