Northeast Syria | Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (JMMI) 1-8 January 2025
INTRODUCTION
To facilitate humanitarian cash programming, the Northeast of Syria Cash Working Group (NES CWG), in collaboration with local and international NGOs, carries out a monthly Joint Market Monitoring Initiative in Northern Syria. This initiative (JMMI) assesses the availability and prices of basic commodities typically sold in markets and consumed by the average Syrian household. These include food, water, and non-food items such as fuel, shelter and clothing.
Among these, 18 components (measured by 24 items) form the Survival Minimum Expenditure Basket (SMEB), which signifies the minimum culturally adjusted items necessary to sustain a household of 6 individuals for a month.
KEY FINDINGS
• The informal regional median SYP/USD exchange rate decreased by 24% compared to the December 2024 JMMI data, driven by political developments that reportedly affected business operations.
• The cost of the SMEB food component decreased across all assessed subdistricts in Aleppo, Al-Hasakeh, DeirEz-Zor, and Ar-Raqqa, likely reflecting the greater impact of recent developments in Syria on these areas at the time of data collection.
• In line with seasonal trends, the prices of several monitored fresh food items fluctuated significantly. Tomato, cucumber, and onion prices increased by 43%, 34%, and 4.3%, respectively, while potato prices declined by 25%.
• 25% of vendor KIs reported that security issues had negatively impacted their business in the 7 days before data collection with Deir-ezZor experiencing the highest impact.
• A significant percentage of interviewed vendors reported price inflation as a common supply challenge, with 77% in Deir-ez-Zor, followed by 57% in Al-Hasakeh, 36% in Ar-Raqqa, and 35% in Aleppo. Rising supplier costs continue to hinder vendors' ability to sustain their current level of operations.
