The Data Lab Stories has taken an interest in the work of iMMAP’s Food Security Analysis Unit, studying various markets and value chains, including wheat, olives, flour, fodder, and fuel. The unit conducts market studies to form a sound understanding of the socio-economic contexts, enabling its partners in the humanitarian and development sectors to design and implement aid programs more effectively.
In this edition, we look into one of Syria’s then prolific industries — the pistachio market.
Before the war, Syria was one of the top pistachio producers worldwide, fourth behind Turkey, Iran and the United States. The beleaguered country produced up to 80,000 tons a year, exporting their pride and joy to countries and regions like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, and Europe. A researcher for Syria’s National Agricultural Policy Center notes that Syria was once the producer of 10% of the world’s pistachios.
The Syrian pistachio has been primarily grown and sold in Aleppo and is considered the central hub for pistachios in the country. However, the Syrian pistachio is also cultivated in Hama, Idleb and near the city of Sweida.
The City of Red Gold
Morek, a tiny village 40 km north of Hama, was at the forefront of Syria’s pistachio production. Before the war, 95% of Morek was covered with pistachio trees, earning Morek the moniker the “City of Red Gold” on account of their cultivated pistachio’s redness and immense profitability.
An interview with Adam, a pistachio farmer whose orchards sit just outside of Morek, recalls that Morek was once dubbed the wealthiest village in Syria, following the establishment of pistachio markets between 1997 and 1999.
A family heritage
According to a report published by iMMAP MENA’s Food Security Analysis Unit, in cooperation with the Food Security and Livelihoods Cluster, the amount of time it takes to generate a fruitful, A-grade quality pistachio tree takes 15 to 20 years. Despite this, Syrians have taken great pride in tending and cultivating this arduous agricultural asset.
Pistachio trees can reportedly bear temperatures up to 48 degrees Celsius in the summer. With its extensive root system and deciduous pinnate leaves, the pistachio tree has the capacity to withstand droughts.
Despite searing temperatures and even temperatures as low as -10 degrees Celsius, the pistachio tree can remain productive for a protracted period of up to hundreds of years. So much so that many pistachio trees are proudly passed on from generation to generation.
The War’s Impact
Heavy fighting, gun shells, airstrikes and makeshift military checkpoints have brought significant harm to the country’s once-thriving pistachio industry. Farmers have left their orchards, been deprived of access to their farms and seen a substantial portion of their orchards burned and destroyed.
In Morek, fighting and a desperate need for wood have left many of Morek’s trees devastated, chopped and sold. The town’s pre-war yearly output of 50,000 tons of pistachio has been halved, at best.
Adam laments that pistachio farming has been impacted severely by the conflict. Among thousands of acres of farmland damaged, a tangible expanse belonged to him. Between 2014 and 2016, Adam experienced a financial loss from an estimated 22 million Syrian Pounds (SYP) in pistachio harvest value to just over 1 million due to the large-scale destruction of his family’s pistachio farm.
“During the first campaign in 2011, a big tank rolled over my pistachio trees, damaging 11 and cutting two of them immediately. I also suffered a fire incident in 2014. There was an attack near a checkpoint, near my land, and airplanes were dropping phosphorus bombs. Out of the 857 trees I owned, only 100 trees survived.”
According to a report released in 2019 by a Syrian media outlet, more than 5,000 donums of pistachios have been burnt by the Syrian government. Another 8,000 donums were put at risk as farmers did not have access to dispose of long grass, which puts the trees at risk of fires set off by Syria’s sweltering summer heat.
A source familiar with the Syrian pistachio market also notes that, as we speak, 50% of farmland in northern Syria is cut off from farmers due to Syrian government control of their lands or their proximity to government checkpoints.
In major pistachio producing areas in north Hama alone, more than 35% of farmers have lost 100% access to their lands, while more than 50% of pistachio trees were cut due to shelling, airstrikes and fire.
Of the 170,000 acres allotted for pistachio production in the country, a quarter has been damaged as a result of the ongoing war.
Impact on Production
Adam now lives in Turkey with his family and provides financial support to his brothers in Syria for the upkeep of what remains of their orchard.
“My brothers asked me for money for pesticides. I responded, look my brothers, if I give you money to purchase pesticides, then I’m 100% sure we won’t break even.”
Adam explains that the sale of pistachios pegged at 2,700 SYP per kg would drop to 1,700 SYP per kg.
“This drop took place recently,” raised Adam. “Our local market is, unfortunately, currently controlled by military and intelligence agencies. And as a result, we’re forced to pay 1,000 SYP commission or bribe to armed groups or middlemen affiliated with these agencies. In the end, 1,700 SYP is better than nothing.”
According to iMMAP’s report, the cost of production in 2011 before the war was 17,000 SYP per metric ton (MT), and the number of pistachios produced per year ranged from 65,000–75,000 MT.
In 2018, the cost of production rose to 100,000 SYP per MT, while in 2014, the number of pistachios produced nosedived by 50% to 35,000 MT.
In addition, the cost, availability and quality of agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides and foliar nutrients have been affected negatively by the crisis. Fertilizer prices rose dramatically in 2018 compared to 2014: urea fertilizers amounted to 175,000 SYP per ton from 63,000 SYP; phosphorus fertilizers were priced at 150,000 SYP from 5,000 SYP; the price of tillage has spiked to 1,000 SYP per donum from 50 SYP.
Impact on Trade
According to the 2017 World Pistachio Report, Syria recorded 5,047 MT in worldwide pistachio exports in 2010. Their keenest importer, Jordan, registered 2,324 MT of pistachios in 2011.
According to iMMAP MENA’s Food Security Analysis Unit, the figure above dropped to 2,447 MT in 2011. In the same year, Jordan’s imported pistachios from Syria dropped by approximately half to 1,308 MT.
Forty percent of traders also reported limitations in increasing their supply as a result of limited financial capacity, with trade volume severely affected. These worrying numbers have transpired due to a myriad of factors, including checkpoints, high labor costs, trade closures, and the bombing of production warehouses.
Reviving the pistachio market
Given the air of calm emerging in some parts of the conflict-stricken state, some pistachio farmers have been granted access to their lands, boosting hopes of a potential resurrection of this cherished and popular market.
“In Morek, they started to reactivate the pistachio market,” Adam reveals. “Yes, this market needs reconstruction, but people are willing to see this market back on its feet, particularly the elderly since they are not subject to mandatory military conscription. It needs time, however.”
Adam emphasizes the first line of the value chain, which involves the cultivation and production of pistachios. He stresses that farmers need secure access to their orchards, a consistent cash flow for agricultural inputs, and the private sector’s intervention to rehabilitate the market.
For his family, Adam no longer believes he will get the opportunity to preserve a cherished tradition of passing on their beloved pistachio orchards to his children and is uncertain his children will be able to hold on to what little memories they have of their farm.
“I’m feeling sad, but I don’t blame my children,” Adam asserts.
“We experienced a lot of displacement before we eventually moved to Turkey in 2013. We established our own camp, we have been subjected to shelling, reduced food rations, and reduced water and sanitation services. My eldest son was ten years old when we were last in Syria. Maybe he remembers our apartment and neighbors, but he wasn’t involved in anything agricultural, so I doubt he remembers even where our orchards are located. My sons are now in a foreign country, where they have to learn a new language. So again, I don’t blame them, along with other Syrian children, for not being able to remember.”
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iMMAP’s Data Lab Stories is a collection of stories curated from experts and data archives, an initiative to uncover and share meaningful insights while showcasing iMMAP’s support to the humanitarian and development community.
iMMAP’s Food Security Analysis Unit utilizes a wide range of technical expertise in economic research to inform interventions within humanitarian, early recovery, and development sectors.
iMMAP is an international not-for-profit organization that provides information management services to humanitarian and development organizations, enabling partners to make informed decisions that ultimately provide high-quality targeted assistance to the world’s most vulnerable populations.
