A New Bakery Category
Syria's Ministry of Economy and Industry has issued a decision permitting the establishment of privately operated "tourist bakeries," a new category of food-industry facility intended to modernize bread and pastry production. The measure, announced on 29 June 2026, sets out detailed conditions that applicants must meet before a license is granted.
The decision frames the bakeries as commercial, design-driven operations rather than traditional neighborhood ovens, opening part of the sector to larger private investment and to mechanized production.
Size and Location Rules
Each project must occupy a plot of at least 3,000 square meters in a vital position on a main street inside a city or in an adjacent suburb. The buildings are required to follow a modern architectural design that reflects the commercial character of the facility.
The scale and siting requirements effectively reserve the new category for sizeable, capital-intensive ventures rather than small workshops.
No Subsidized Flour
Operators must commit not to use subsidized flour, keeping the new outlets outside the state's support system for staple bread. That condition points the bakeries toward the commercial market rather than the subsidized loaf that most households rely on.
Permitted products include the bread known locally as soumoun, along with cakes, pastries, and sweets produced on automated lines. Technical work must follow reference specifications issued by the national bakery body and comply with health and safety standards.
Who Can Apply
Applicants may not be public-sector employees, and they must have no prior convictions for a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude. The conditions limit eligibility to private operators with a clean legal record.
Licensing Path
Applications are submitted to the General Administration for Domestic Trade and Consumer Protection. A specialized committee then inspects the proposed site, after which provincial trade directorates issue the final approval. The staged process leaves local authorities with the last word on each license.