Syria: An Economic Survey 



2. Commercial Crops. 



The principal commercial crops are tobacco, cotton, anise, 

 hemp, sugar cane, fennel, and caraway seed. Caraway seed grows 

 in small quantities near Tripoli and is exported (1,000 sacks in 

 1912), as is fennel. Sugar cane, which requires an abundance of 

 water, thrives only on the coastal plain and in the Jordan Valley. 

 It is planted in February or March and harvested in October or 

 November. It has no industrial importance. Hemp is grown near 

 Damascus and in the Vilayet of Aleppo on the Euphrates and is 

 used in the rope-making industry. Hemp-seed is also used for food 

 for poultry and in the manufacture of oil. The stalks are used for 

 fuel. In 1912 1,300 tons valued at 1,000,000 francs were grown in 

 the valley of the Barada. Anise is planted in the neighborhood of 

 Damascus and is used in the production of arrack. Cotton is planted 

 on a large scale in the Vilayet of Aleppo. Before the American 

 Civil War it was cultivated along the whole coastal plain from 

 Alexandretta to Gaza, and the annual yield was 19,800,000 pounds, 

 worth 9,000,000 francs. As a result of the slump in the price of 

 cotton after the war its cultivation was restricted to Northern 

 Syria. In the last few years unsuccessful attempts have been 

 made to grow cotton further south, in Latakia, Acre, Petach Tik- 

 vah, etc. The staple of the Syrian cotton is very white and elastic, 

 but short, being about 2 centimeters in length. 



The cultivation of tobacco is subject to the restrictions men- 

 tioned in a preceding paragraph. Small quantities are grown in 

 the Vilayet of Aleppo, larger quantities in the Vilayet of Beirut. 

 Most of it is exported to Egypt and England, the rest being made 

 into cigarettes in the Lebanon. Tombeki, a special kind of tobac- 

 co used for the narghileh," is grown mainly around Latakia, but 

 also in the vicinity of Beirut, Acre, Jaffa, Nablus, Tripoli, and 

 Jerusalem. The total value of the tobacco and tombeki crops 

 reaches approximately 5,000,000 francs. 



Summary. 

 Annual Crops Used for Food and Fodder. 



Tons Value in francs 



Wheat 1,000,000 210,000,000 



Barley 500,000 75,000,000 



Durrha 200,000 30,000,000 



Corn 50,000 6,000,000 



Legumes 500,000 65,000,000 



Sesame 30,000 12,000,000 



Potatoes 200,000 18,000,000 



Vegetables 25,000,000 



Other plants 9,000,000 



18 445,000,000 



