Syria prices nearly triple during war: statistics bureau

DAMASCUS - Agence France-Presse

REUTERS Photo

Prices in Syria have nearly tripled during the country's three-year civil war, the central bureau of statistics said Tuesday, led by food and fuel.
      
The consumer price index stood at 387.94 at the end of 2013, compared with 142.1 at the beginning of 2011, a rise of 173 percent.
      
Trouble erupted in Syria in March 2011 with a brutal crackdown on peaceful anti-government protests, which led to a civil war that continues to rage.
      
Last year alone, consumer price inflation was 90 percent.
     
The authorities attribute the dramatic jump in inflation to the rise in food prices, with bread and cereals up 115 percent last year, while meat, vegetables and fruit doubled.
      
Electricity, gas and other domestic fuels shot up by 118 percent, while fuel for transportation rose by 105 percent.
      
In March, Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi estimated the cost of damages caused by Syria's war at $31 billion (22.6 billion euros).
      
Activists say prices are even higher in areas under government siege, where millions of people suffer extreme food and fuel shortages.
      
The war has killed more than 150,000 people and forced nearly half the population to flee their homes.