Battered by conflict, wheat crop halved this year to new low

Syria's wheat harvest nearly halved to 1.3 million tons this year, the lowest in 27 years, as fighting and poor rainfall further degraded the farming sector and the nation's ability to feed itself.

The government was forced to tender this summer for an unprecedented 1.35 million tons of imported wheat from Russia to ensure supply of the flat loaves that are a staple for the Syrian people.

Before the five-year-old civil conflict, Syria was a wheat exporter producing 4 million tons in a good year and able to export 1.5 million tons.