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Syria

Northwest Syria | Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (JMMI) 1-8 December 2024

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INTRODUCTION

To facilitate humanitarian cash programming, the Northwest of Syria Cash Working Group (NWS CWG), in collaboration with local and international NGOs, carries out a monthly Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (JMMI) in Northern Syria. This initiative assesses the availability and prices of basic commodities typically sold in markets and consumed by the average Syrian household. These include food, water, and non-food items such as fuel, shelter and clothing.

Among these, 18 components (measured by 24 items) form the Survival Minimum Expenditure Basket (SMEB), which signifies the minimum culturally adjusted items necessary to sustain a household of 6 individuals for a month.

KEY FINDINGS

  • The cost of the SMEB food component increased across all assessed subdistricts in Greater Idlib compared to only half of assessed subdistricts in Northern Aleppo, likely reflecting the greater impact of recent developments in Syria on these areas at the time of data collection.
  • In line with seasonal trends, several monitored fresh food items experienced substantial prices raises, with the price of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and potatoes increasing by 50%, 53%, 22%, and 50% respectively.
  • The cost of water trucking in NWS has skyrocketed 83% over the past year, rising 36% between October and December alone. This ongoing trend has serious implications for households’ ability to meet their basic water needs.
  • The number of vendor KIs reporting that security issues had negatively impacted their business in the 7 days before data collection increased from 3% in Norther Aleppo and 1% in Greater Idlib in October, to 14% and 15% in December.