Smuggling operations of petroleum derivatives into Syria continue

Fuel shortages in Syria, including gasoline, diesel fuel and gas, have reactivated smuggling of these petroleum derivatives into Syria for sale at exorbitant prices.

According to information obtained from Syria, a can of gasoline in Damascus costs between $35 and $40, with prices in the al-Hasakah region reaching about $80.

The official price for diesel fuel was $21, while the black market price is $35 a can.

Available information indicates that these smuggling activities have begun to intensify in some areas of the eastern and northern borders.

Information found that these activities are less organized than when fuel was subsidized in Lebanon.

Those in charge of these operations now mostly work individually rather than in the form of mafias, especially since only the rich in Syria can afford to buy gasoline and diesel at these prices.

Smugglers also refuse to price the smuggled fuel in Syrian pounds, demanding full payment in US dollars. This is another issue as dollar liquidity is not readily available in Syria.

This smuggling phenomenon will last as long as the Syrian fuel crisis lasts and is unlikely to end anytime soon despite the announcement that a tanker laden with Iranian fuel has arrived at Baniyas port and that other tankers are heading there.