DAMASCUS, May 11 (Xinhua) -- The unabated economic crisis in Syria is overshadowing the spiritual atmosphere of the holy month of Ramadan.
People in the capital Damascus are still seen in crowds in marketplaces, mainly the popular ones such as Bab Srijeh and Midan areas during the fasting day of Ramadan as part of the tradition of buying sweets and other food items.
However, people are opting to buy cheap products as the country's economic situation are staggering more than ever because of the economic sanctions tightened on the war-torn country by the U.S. and its Western allies.
In the Bab Srijeh area, which is a big marketplace for grocery and meat, people were seen thronging the place but hardly buying stuff without negotiating the prices.
Muhammad Malla, resident of Damascus, told Xinhua that the prices are going up year after year.
"Regarding the economic situation, the prices are going up year after year but the security situation is much better. Every new Ramadan, we witness an increase of around 50 percent in prices compared with the previous year," he said.
Abdul-Qader Quaider, accountant at a sweet shop in Midan neighborhood, said that people are buying sweets by piece, instead of kilo as they used to do before the crisis.
"People ... don't buy the products by kilo but by piece, because they are not in good economic conditions," he told Xinhua.
Many factors have led to the increase in prices this year, mainly the fuel crisis that has hit the country recently because of the U.S. sanctions.
The lack of fuel has negatively affected the transportation of goods across the country as truck owners and drivers are demanding higher prices.
Fadi al-Sayha, grocery shop owner, said that the lack of fuel is pushing truck drivers to ask for more money to transport the goods.
"Our customers are the same but the prices are fluctuating every day. There is a new price which is affected by many factors such as the fuel availability to bring the goods and this is a main reason behind the recent unstable prices amid the fuel crisis in the country," he said.
On Jan. 24, 2019, the United States imposed additional sanctions on Syria and on every entity that deals economically with Syria.
