Syria | Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (JMMI) Market Overview | September 2026

Country: Syrian Arab Republic Source: REACH Initiative Please refer to the attached file. KEY FINDINGS • In August 2026, the national median cost of the Survival Minimum Expenditure Basket (SMEB) increased by 7% compared to May 2026, reaching USD 173. Increases in USD were observed across all assessed regions, with the largest rise recorded in Northeastern Syria (NES) (+13%), followed by Northwestern Syria (NWS) (+12%) and Central-Southern Syria (CSS) (+6%), indicating a continued increase in the minimum cost of meeting basic household needs. • The Syrian pound (SYP) strengthened modestly against the US dollar between May and August 2026, appreciating by around 1% nationally and 2% in both NES and CSS region. However, despite the improved exchange rate, the cost of the Survival Minimum Expenditure Basket (SMEB) increased across all SYP-denominated areas, indicating that inflation in essential goods and services outweighed currency gains. In Northwest Syria (NWS), where the Turkish lira (TRY) is widely used, the currency depreciated by 6% against the US dollar, adding further pressure on household purchasing power. • In August 2026, the national food component of the SMEB rose by 9%, reaching USD 127. Increases were recorded in every region, from 9% in CSS to 17% in NES. The rise was driven mainly by protein prices (chicken +44. 1%, eggs +27. 7%), which outweighed a seasonal drop in vegetable prices (-39. 1%). • In August 2026, the cost of the SMEB cooking-fuel component increased across most assessed regions. At the national level, the median cost of refilling a 24 kg LPG cylinder (about 15 litres) increased by 6% in SYP, while the largest increase in local currency terms was recorded in NWS (+12%), where the cost rose from 479 TRY to 538 TRY. When expressed in USD, increases were less pronounced, with the cooking-fuel component rising by 8% nationally and slighlty more in NES (+10%) and CSS (+9%). • Transportation fuel prices increased sharply between May and August 2026 across both formal and informal markets, with petrol prices rising by 25% and diesel prices increasing by 18% to 22%. These substantial fuel cost increases likely contributed to higher transportation and commodity prices, adding upward pressure on overall SMEB costs. With fuel price policy changes implemented just after this assessment’s data collection, fuel prices mentioned here should be treated as subject to increase. • Market functionality remained constrained in August 2026, with affordability the binding constraint. Of the 110 assessed subdistricts, 30 (27%) could not be classified, in each case for lack of data on secure storage access. Among the 80 classified sub-districts, 69 (86%) showed reduced (41) or stressed (28) functionality, 9 were dysfunctional and 2 fully functional. Affordability fell below threshold in 77 (96%) — in 40 cases the only constrained dimension — while availability was not constrained anywhere.

Read full story on Reliefweb