Historic drought, wheat shortage to test Syria’s new leadership

The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) warned that around three million Syrians could face severe hunger, noting that more than half of the country’s 25.6 million people are already food insecure.

According to a June report from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Syria faces a wheat deficit of 2.73 million metric tons this year enough to feed 16 million people for 12 months.

The crisis comes as President Ahmed al-Sharaa attempts to stabilise the country after a 14-year civil war that ended with the removal of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad in December. Wheat, the country’s most crucial crop, underpins a state-subsidised bread programme seen as essential to daily life.

Despite this, the government has been slow to attract international backing for large import deals. Officials confirmed only 373,500 tons of wheat were bought from domestic farmers this year, roughly half the volume of 2024. Damascus still needs about 2.55 million tons in imports but has so far relied on limited private shipments totalling 200,000 tons, with no major contracts announced.

Emergency aid has been modest: Iraq has sent 220,000 tons of wheat and Ukraine 500 tons of flour. Farmers in key production areas such as Homs, Aleppo and Hassakeh described devastating harvests, with some reporting they reaped nothing at all. Only 40% of farmland was cultivated this year, much of it later ruined by drought.

Incentives were offered to encourage sales to the state at $450 per ton, above market rates, but yields were meagre.

“In a good year I sell 25 tons, but this year just eight – the rest I gave to livestock,” said Nazih Altarsha, a farmer in Homs.

Before the war, Syria produced up to four million tons of wheat annually and exported about one million. By contrast, U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows the country will need record imports of 2.15 million tons in 2025/26, a 53% rise on last year.

Although President Donald Trump announced in May that U.S. sanctions on Syria would be lifted to ease economic recovery, payment delays and financial troubles remain a barrier to wheat imports. Russia once Syria’s main supplier and ally has largely suspended shipments since Assad’s fall, citing uncertainty and delayed payments.

Tags: wheat, flour, Syria, imports, hunger, deficit, World Food Programme