Syria to Subsidise Diesel for Heating and Farming After Fuel Price Protests

Syria will offer subsidised diesel for heating and agricultural use following steep fuel price increases that set off widespread protests, the country's energy minister said on Thursday.

Under the plan, diesel will be sold through a tiered pricing system, with the subsidised grade priced at 115 Syrian pounds (about $0.94) per litre.

The government had announced increases of 30% to 40% for gasoline and diesel the previous Sunday, pointing to the U.S.-Iran war and repair work at a major refinery on Syria's coast. The unrest that followed left hundreds of oil trucks stranded after demonstrators blocked a highway.

At a filling station in Damascus, drivers said the higher prices were adding to the strain on their livelihoods.

Bus driver Hassan al-Ali said filling his tank with gasoline cost 350,000 Syrian pounds, leaving him only 25,000 pounds out of the 375,000 pounds he had earned that day — before accounting for repairs, oil, tyres and other maintenance.

"Everything I earn ends up going to the government," he said.

Pickup truck driver Ahmad Msouti said costlier diesel had slowed his business, with daily earnings falling from roughly 200,000 pounds to 100,000 pounds even as fuel costs rose. He said customers had not raised what they pay for his services, and that they argue any price increase would be temporary.

"The increase in diesel prices is happening all over the world," Msouti said. "But it has affected our work and our livelihoods."

Another Damascus resident, Sleiman Nazzal, said the government had absorbed earlier cost increases and faced competing demands, including subsidies for bread, transport, hospitals and schools.

Syria produces about 100,000 barrels of oil a day while domestic consumption is estimated at some 325,000 barrels a day, leaving the country reliant on imports to cover the gap.