Rolling back the frontiers of reform

On March 18 the Syrian government announced it would set price controls for a whole set of key commodity items, and that all retailers will have to comply with the new restrictions. The decision is a response to the surge in prices witnessed recently in the local market. Indeed, while inflation remained relatively under control for most of last year, the last few weeks of 2011 saw a steep rise in the price of various consumer items, particularly food products; this trend has only accelerated since the beginning of this year. The factors behind these price rises include the depreciation of the Syrian pound, the suspension of the free trade agreement with Turkey, the rising costs of banking and transport insurance due to economic sanctions, logistical and supply difficulties across the country and the increase in production costs due to growing power shortages. The prices of many food items such