FILE - A Syrian woman leaves a pharmacy after buying medicine in Damascus, Syria, on July 24, 2019. The Syrian government decided to increase prices of drugs by 50%, the head of the pharmacies syndicate in Damascus said Tuesday Aug. 8, 2023 as the Syrian pound hit new a low in recent days. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)
FILE - A Syrian woman leaves a pharmacy after buying medicine in Damascus, Syria, on July 24, 2019. The Syrian government decided to increase prices of drugs by 50%, the head of the pharmacies syndicate in Damascus said Tuesday Aug. 8, 2023 as the Syrian pound hit new a low in recent days. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)
HADAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The Syrian government decided to increase prices of drugs by 50%, the head of the pharmacies syndicate in Damascus said Tuesday, as the Syrian pound hit new a low in recent days.
Hassan Derwan did not give a reason for the price hike in his interview with the pro-government daily Al-Watan. Earlier this year, prices were raised by between 50% and 80%.
Syrian pharmaceutical companies mainly import raw materials in hard currencies which makes them susceptible to changes in the price of the Syrian pound. The companies have recently demanded to increase the price of their products to cope with the tumbling pound.
Since Syria’s conflict erupted 12 years ago — killing nearly half a million people and displacing about 6.8 million others — the country’s currency has lost much of its value and now the vast majority of Syrians live in poverty.
Back in 2011, a dollar was valued at 47 pounds. Last week, the dollar was valued at about 13,000 pounds on the parallel market while the official rate stood at 9,900. At the start of the year, the dollar was worth about 7,000 pounds.
The minimum monthly wage in Syria is 130,000 pounds or about $12.
hit by the war, Western sanctions, widespread corruption and the historic economic meltdown in neighboring Lebanon that started in October 2019.
°µÍø½ûÇø. All rights reserved.
Victoria Mboko earned the biggest win of her young career with a dominant win over…
Bright rides, skill-testing games, and sticky cotton candy are hallmarks of travel…
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
