Highlights

The October 2022 standard reference food basket was 52 percent dearer than seven months ago, the onset of the crisis in Ukraine, up 91 percent compared to a year earlier, reaching SYP 357,593 (USD 119 at the official exchange rate of SYP 3,015). Three years ago, SYP 25,000, nearly one-fifteenth of the October 2022 cost, bought the same standard food basket.

The Minimum Expenditure Basket (MEB) continued to stay on the rise in October 2022, reached SYP 903,270, up 62 percent higher than the same time last year. The October MEB was the highest in the series and returned to levels seen at the onset of the Ukraine crisis reflecting a cost-of-living crisis.

Surging food prices are likely to take a toll on vulnerable households as food account for a significant proportion of their spending while the increase in commodity prices will likely limit the fiscal space on government transfers on food and energy.

The Syrian Pound continued to lose value against the US dollar on the informal market reaching SYP 5,069 in October 2022 from SYP 4,573 in the previous month. The local currency depreciated by 31 percent in 12 months and 54 percent in two years.

Source: World Food Programme