Grain shipments to Syria on hold after fall of Bashar al-Assad regime

The fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8 after the opposition took control of the country has raised questions about future import policies and temporarily halted import trade, sources told Fastmarkets.

Syria is heavily dependent on grain imports, especially wheat, with the latest United Nations update saying that around 1.6 million tonnes of wheat are forecast as an import need for the 2024/25 marketing year, 8% below average, as the country’s private sector has been facing issues related to currency devaluation along with internal and macroeconomic instability.

Russia has recently been the main wheat supplier to the country, with around 670,000 tonnes already imported during the 2024/25 marketing year. However, following the change in leadership, the future of the trade has become uncertain.

Russia has been supporting the regime of Bashar al-Assad, with the president of Syria escaping to the country after the turmoil.

On Monday December 9, the head of the Russian Grain Exporters Union, Eduard Zernin, said that Russian exporters are not going to stop their supplies to Syria and will work with the Syrian side to resolve payment issues.

At the same time, sources said that some vessels carrying Russian wheat destined to Syria are at anchor, as they are not able to process payments.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian agriculture minister Viktor Koval has said that Ukraine is ready to supply Syria with food.

Currently, according to market sources, Ukrainian goods are already being delivered to Syria by going through other destinations, thus hiding the final one.

Official customs data shows zero imports of agricultural products from Ukraine for at least the last three years.

It was also said that the government might be working on a mechanism to process such shipments, but no details or further confirmation was received.

Fastmarkets sent a request to the Agriculture Ministry of Ukraine, but no response was received by the time of publication.

In general, trade sources said that they were waiting until the new regulations come into force given the regime change in Syria, with uncertainty over whether sanctions will be lifted from the country and how banks will adapt to the new reality.