Attachments
INTRODUCTION
To inform humanitarian cash programming, REACH, in partnership with the Cash-Based Responses Technical Working Group (CBR-TWG), conducts monthly market monitoring exercises throughout Syria to assess the availability and prices of 36 basic commodities that are typically sold in markets and consumed by average Syrian households, including food and non-food items, water, fuel, and cellphone data.
Of these, 18 items comprise the Survival Minimum Expenditure Basket (SMEB; see below), which represents the minimum, culturally adjusted items required to support a 6-person household for a month.
Data was collected this month (between 6-13 May) by ACTED, CARE Shafak, Concern, GOAL, IRC, Mercy Corps, People in Need, REACH, SARD, Solidarités International, STC Shafak, Violet, and Watan.
The accompanying dataset from the month of May is disseminated monthly and is distributed through partners across the humanitarian community.
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
Northwest: SMEB cost decreased after 4-months of continuous increase The SMEB cost slightly decreased by approximately 1% from 66,354 SYP to 66,348 SYP (116 USD) in May 2019. Aside from April, the May SMEB cost is the highest observed since March 2018, when the SMEB had spiked (69,823 SYP) as a result of the Afrin offensive (see page 2).
Northeast: SMEB cost rose again, the highest since May 2017 The SMEB cost increased by approximately 5% to 71,161 SYP (125 USD) in May 2019, making the SMEB cost for this month the highest observed in a 22-month period (since May 2017; 72,703 SYP). The increase in SMEB costs this month was mainly driven by an increase in food item and transportation fuel prices.
North: The Syrian Pound continued to depreciate, reaching its lowest value against the US Dollar recorded by REACH’s market monitoring In May 2019, the US Dollar appreciated against the Syrian Pound by approximately 6% to 570 SYP. This led to a slight decrease in the costs of the USD-denominated SMEB for this month, from 121 USD to 116 USD in the northwest and from 131 USD to 125 USD in the northeast.
In addition, since March 2019, wholesalers reportedly preferred the use of USD instead of SYP to avoid losses due to the depreciating Syrian Pound.
North: Transportation fuel cost continued to rise In May 2019, the average price of transportation fuel per litre increased by approximately 12% in assessed communities, from 163 SYP to 195 SYP in the northeast, and 338 SYP to 372 SYP in the northwest. The main driver of the increase was reportedly related to the fuel shortage across WoS.
Northeast: REACH launched a pilot market monitoring exercise inside camps in the northeast In May 2019, as requested by partners, REACH collected data in markets inside three camps in the northeast (Al-Houl, Ein Eissa and Areeshah camps). Key findings included the lack of non-food items, the prohibition of the sale of fuel, and high prices of bread in camps inside Al-Hasakah governorate (Al-Houl and Areeshah camps).
Although bread was reportedly distrubuted for free inside these camps, the additional purchase of bread was reportedly 400 SYP per 8 pieces