Wheat Season Begins
Syria's state grain authority has opened three wheat receiving centers in Rural Damascus governorate as the 2026 marketing season gets under way. The centers, at Al-Kiswa, Tishreen and Al-Ghazlaniyah, were reported ready to take in the new harvest on 7 June 2026.
Farmers from neighboring Quneitra governorate will deliver their crop to the Al-Kiswa center and receive transport allowances to offset the cost of moving grain across provincial lines.
Harvest Wage Rates
In the eastern governorate of Deir ez-Zor, a local price-setting committee fixed the wages paid for bringing in the wheat crop. Harvesting was set at 1,300 Syrian pounds (SYP) per dunam and threshing at 400 SYP per bag.
The figures correspond to 130,000 and 40,000 pounds under the country's former denomination. The committee said it had weighed the costs of harvesting and threshing against the interests of farmers and service providers before settling on the rates, which were announced publicly for the current season and made binding on all parties.
Scales and Quality Labs
The receiving centers have been fitted with electronic scales, computerized accounting systems and laboratory equipment to test grain against official quality standards. Each site also has its own power and internet supply, along with security cameras.
Marketing director Sultan Al-Ahmad said the institution had staffed the centers with trained technical and administrative personnel to keep transactions with farmers moving smoothly.
Strategic Crop Reserves
Wheat is treated as a strategic crop, and the procurement drive is aimed at rebuilding the country's grain reserves while securing bread supplies. No purchases had begun as of 7 June 2026, with the centers still in their final preparation phase.
The push to standardize weighing, testing and payment is intended to give growers a single, predictable channel for selling this year's harvest to the state across the governorates.