American Embassy Damascus
Agriculture/ Economic/ Commercial Section

Abou Roumaneh Al Mansour Street, 2		Phone: (963-11) 333-1342 Fax: (963-11) 332-5746

Syria Accountability Act Release
May 12, 2004

Office Hours Country Commercial Guide
Commercial and Economic Services Agricultural Services US-Syria Trade Statistics (2003)
Newsletters

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Commercial Library and Office Hours

Services	Day	Time
Office Hours	Sunday- Thursday	8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.
Library Hours	Sunday- Thursday	8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Please call us at telephone (+963-11) 333-1342 x417 or fax (+963-11) 332-5746
to schedule an appointment or for additional information.

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Commercial and Economic Service

The Commercial Section of the U.S. Embassy welcomes U.S. business visitors, for whom we maintain a commercial library, and are pleased to assist local representatives interested in U.S. products. We are happy to help businesses with inquiries about U.S. and Syrian import/ export regulations, trade fairs, regulatory associations, government and private sector trade contacts, and U.S. product representation and franchising.

The Commercial Section also plays an important role in conducting in-country market research. One of the Section’s main functions is to assess the potential for exporting American products and services overseas by conducting market and company investigations as well as analyzing trends, supporting visiting American companies and responding to commercial inquiries.

Accordingly, in addition to the Commercial Library and providing basic background on Syria, such as the Country Commercial Guide, more in-depth, fee-based services are also available. These services include:

1. International Partner Search (IPS): An IPS (formerly called Agent Distributor Service (ADS)) promotes US products by helping US firms gain effective representation abroad. After researching the market, a typical IPS report identifies up to five qualified, reputable and interested partners for a US firm, along with contact information, level of interest, language requirements, each prospect’s opinion on the market for the client’s product or service, and marketing information. The fee is $600 for each report.

2. International Company Profile (ICP): This service is an add-on to the IPS. It provides background information on foreign companies to U.S. firms. Researched by Embassy personnel, each report includes financial information on specific non-U.S. companies. The fee is $500 for each profile.

3. Gold Key Service: This is a custom-tailored service for US firms visiting a country. The Gold Key Service combines orientation briefings, market research, and introductions to potential partners, interpreters, and assistance to the company in refining its market strategy. The fee is based on the number of days, appointments, local travel costs, and the amount of Embassy support needed to meet the company’s goals. In general, Gold Key Service fee is $300 for the first day and $200 for each additional day. The cost of the Gold Key Service is agreed upon by post and the company prior to the company’s arrival.

4. Customized Market Analysis (CMA): In conducting a CMA, post provides custom surveys of market conditions and evaluates the prospects and potential for a company’s product in the market. Each report reflects the views of established importers, users, and other businesspersons. If post utilizes the services of a local contractor, the contractor’s fee is included in the Embassy’s fee and passed on to the customer. The fee ranges from $600 to $3500 depending on the report. Alternatively, posts may simply provide the business client with a list of reputable consulting firms, whom the business client can interview, hire, and pay directly.

5. Newsletters: The Commercial Section of the US Embassy in Damascus is pleased to present its newest service, a monthly newsletter to provide you with current information about U.S.-Syria trade, professional trade shows, new products, U.S. companies looking for international partners, and special features. We hope that this publication will be of interest to our existing customers and that it will encourage businesses and individuals to contact us to learn more about what we can offer to promote U.S.-Syria trade relations. We further invite people to visit our library and the other pages of our website to take full advantage of the services and information we have to offer serious businesspeople.
Click the appriopriate Newsletter:

2001
Zipped versions for the months: April; May; June.
July (zipped , Plain text); August (zipped , Plain text); September (zipped, Plain text).
October (zipped , Plain text); November (zipped , Plain text); December (zipped , Plain text).

2002
January (zipped , Plain text); February (zipped , Plain text); March (zipped , Plain text).
April (zipped , Plain text); May (zipped , Plain text); June (zipped , Plain text).
July (zipped , Plain text); August (zipped , Plain text); September (zipped, Plain text).
October (zipped , Plain text); November (zipped , Plain text); December (zipped , Plain text).

2003
October (zipped , Plain text); November (zipped , Plain text); December (zipped , Plain text).

2004
January (zipped , Plain text); February (zipped , Plain text); March (zipped , Plain text);
April (zipped , Plain text); May (zipped , Plain text); June (zipped , Plain text).

Note: You will need to unzip the files in order to use them. Please check the PKware site to download the needed application.

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Agricultural Services
Syria at a Glance (2002)

Total Imports	$ 5,070 million
Total Agricultural Imports	$ 919.4 million
Total Agricultural Imports as a percent of Total Imports	18 %
Total Agricultural Imports from the United States	$ 130.5 million
U.S. Market Share of Total Agricultural Imports	14 %
Population	17.1 million
Population Growth	2.45 %
Inflation rate	2 %
Agriculture’s Contribution to GDP	25 %

U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service
Best Prospects (Syria)
January - December 2002
(In Millions of Dollars)

Commodity	Total Imports	Imports from the U.S.	Import Tariff	Unified Tax
Corn	100.8	84.8	1 %	6 %
Soybeans	18.7	6.8	15 %	14 %
Cigarettes	34.0	20.5	30 %	17 %
Seeds	19.2	4.0	1 %	6 %
Food Preparations	39.5	2.0	75 %	27 %
Rice	49.5	0.6	1 %	6 %

Note 1: Syria is self sufficient in wheat production. Processed foods, canned foods, frozen foods, snack foods, meat, fruits, and vegetables are, in general, not permitted to be imported.

Note 2: All figures and numbers were collected from official Syrian resources.

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US - Syria Trade Statistics 2003


By 1-digit SITC commodity
In millions of dollars

1-digit SITC Commodity	Exports	Imports
Food and Live Animals	72.37	7.90
Beverages and Tobacco	14.67	0.25
Crude Materials, Inedible, Except Fuels	14.11	1.19
Mineral Fuels, Lubricants and Related Materials	0.12	198.86
Animal and Vegetable Oils, Fats and Waxes	(z)	0.33
Chemicals and Related Products, N.E.S.	17.38	0.16
Manufactured Goods Classified Chiefly by Material	21.25	1.70
Machinery and Transport Equipmen	62.48	0.35
Miscellaneous Manufactured Articles	9.72	41.29
Commodities and Transactions, N.E.S.	1.93	6.84
TOTAL	214.05	258.88

(-) Represents zero.
(Z) Represents less than 0.05



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Last updated: June 2, 2004