Business

Syria: Textile industry loses US$ 88 mln

Syria's state-owned textile industry has lost 17.6 billion Syrian pounds (US$ 88 million/65.7 million euros) since the country's uprising began 30 months ago. Direct losses caused by theft and the destruction of equipment totalled 7.4 billion pounds, while losses to profit were estimated at 10.2 billion pounds, according to the General Organisation for Textile Industries (GOTI).

Several state-owned factories have "partially or completely halted production," including five companies in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria's one-time commercial capital. No information was available on the losses suffered by privately owned textile firms. Syria's war has killed more than 110,000 people and forced millions to flee their homes, activists say. It has also destroyed the economy, causing soaring inflation and driving down the value of the pound.