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Syria Exports
Syria's growing exports of crude oil and the sharp rise of
world oil prices in 1973-1974 produced a steep increase in the
value of exports in the 1970s. The value of petroleum exports
rose from LS129 million in 1970 to LS2.7 billion in 1976, with
crude oil exports alone increasing from LS291 million to LS1.6
billion from 1973 to 1974. In the 1980s, however, Syria
experienced a steep decline in the value of exports because of
falling world oil prices and reduced oil exports. Syrian
statistics claim that the value of oil exports shrank from LS6.5
billion in 1980 to LS4.6 billion in 1984; other sources state
that the drop was from LS5.2 billion to LS3.6 billion
(see table 10,
Crude Oil Production, Appendix). Crude oil and oil products
exported fell to 7.8 million tons in 1980, peaked at 8.1 million
tons in 1982, and nosedived to 6.8 million tons in 1984. In 1980
exports totaled LS8.3 billion and fell to LS7.35 billion in 1984.
The overall index in the volume of exports fell from 100 to 95 in
1983.
The value of cotton exports totaled LS310 million in 1970,
LS664 million in 1980, and over LS1 billion in 1984, the record
harvest year. The value of cotton exports in 1984 equaled 14.8
percent of Syria's total exports and 29.3 percent of nonpetroleum
exports. In 1984, petroleum and cotton exports together accounted
for 64 percent of the country's total exports. In 1985 the
figures for cotton exports fell by nearly 30 percent, and the
price of cotton on the world market dropped from US$1,800 a ton
in 1984 to about US$1,400 a ton in 1985. Major buyers in the
1980s included the Soviet Union, Algeria, Italy, and Spain.
In addition to cotton and petroleum, Syria exported
phosphates and small quantities of diverse goods. Phosphates
generated LS106.3 million of export revenues in 1983. The 1981 to
1985 Five-Year Plan envisioned an increase in phosphate
production to 5 million tons by 1985, generating LS580 million in
export earnings. Targets fell far short of the goal but
preliminary 1986 figures reflected a record increase in
production
(see Energy and Natural Resources
, this ch.). Export
of textiles, chemicals, glassware, and a variety of agricultural
products also earned small amounts of foreign exchange.
In the 1960s, Syria's major trading partners were East
European states, but in the 1970s the direction of trade shifted
to Western Europe, as the government pursued limited economic
liberalization policies. In 1976 Western Europe (primarily the
EEC) provided the main markets for Syrian exports, accounting for
57 percent. East European and Arab countries accounted for 25 and
11 percent of total exports, respectively.
In the 1980s, Syria experienced another shift in the
direction of trade. Exports to Western Europe had risen to 61.6
percent by 1980 but fell to 35.7 percent in 1984. In 1980 the
East European share of Syrian exports totaled only 16.1 percent
but rose to 43.8 percent in 1984, clearly indicating the return
to those markets. However, in contrast to the 1960s, when East
European states served as the main export market for Syrian goods
on a cash basis, in the 1980s much of Syria's East European trade
occurred as countertrade or barter deals as a result of Syria's
severe shortage of foreign exchange. In 1985 Syria concluded
barter deals with Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, exporting
phospates in exchange for engineering and construction equipment
and industrial raw materials.
To boost trade, Syria also signed important treaties of
friendship and cooperation with East European states in the
1980s. Syria renewed its 1980 treaty of friendship and
cooperation with the Soviet Union in 1985 and signed a similar
agreement with Bulgaria in May 1985. In 1984 the most important
export markets were Romania (LS2 billion), Italy (LS1.4 billion),
Soviet Union (LS838 million), France (LS877 million), Spain
(LS240 million), Algeria (LS164 million) and Iran (LS164
million).
Data as of April 1987
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