Key highlights include:

• The national average price of WFP’s standard reference food basket increased by a dramatic 33 percent between February and March 2021, reaching SYP 180,792 (USD 145 at the official exchange rate of SYP 1,250/USD). 
• On 22 March 2021, Syria’s Central Bank increased the UN preferential exchange rate from SYP 1,250/USD to SYP 2,500/USD. Moreover, the national average informal exchange rate weakened by 18 percent reaching SYP 3,972/USD, causing the price of main food-items, especially imported goods, to drastically increase.
• Between February and March 2021, the national average price of subsidized bread increased by eight percent to reach SYP 119/bundle as a result of the increased fees charged by bread agents while the commercial bread price increased by three percent to reach SYP 1,690/bundle.
• On 15 March 2021, the Ministry of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection increased the formal butane gas cylinder price from SYP 3,000/refill to SYP 3,850/refill (up 28 percent m-o-m).