War and Price

As the five-year civil war in Syria between President Bashar al-Assad and the rebels seeking to overthrow him continues, sieges have become a policy by all sides in the conflict.

Estimates on the number of people trapped in besieged areas vary from 1 to 4.5 million. For reference, Syria's population has shrunk to 16.6 million, down from a pre-war level of 22 million, according to the Economist as of Sept. 2015.

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A kilogram of of rice in the besieged town of Madaya, Syria, 40km from Damscus the capital, cost $450 last week.

Sugar is like gold. You can sell it for SPY 3,000 a kilo. It used to cost SPY 70.

Checkpoints controlled by groups besieging each other are an opportunity for both combatants and traders to make money on desperately needed goods, with prices marked up quadruple, or more.

Only corruption can explain how this siege can last so long.

Excerpted from an article that appeared in the Financial Times on January 16, 2016, page 2.

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