Syria achieves wheat self-sufficiency for 1st time since 2010

Syria has achieved self-sufficiency in wheat production this year for the first time since the onset of the crisis in 2011, which severely damaged the agricultural sector and forced the country to rely on imports for years, according to the Syrian Grain Establishment.

7 August, 2026 11:06

NEWS DESK

Syria has achieved self-sufficiency in wheat production for the first time since 2011, after the amount of wheat delivered to the Syrian Grain Establishment exceeded the country’s annual needs.

The Syrian Grain Establishment said it had received 2.7 million tonnes of wheat from farmers across the country during the current harvest season, exceeding Syria’s estimated annual requirement of 2.55 million tonnes.

Before the crisis began in 2011, Syria was self-sufficient in wheat, producing around 4.1 million tonnes annually. However, production declined sharply during the years of the crisis due to the expansion of fighting and recurring droughts, forcing the country to rely on imports to meet its needs.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned last June that more than 13 million Syrians, or more than half of the population, were facing acute food insecurity.