Among them is an Arab country — where does Syria export its phosphate?

On July 1st, Mazen Aloush, the Director of Public Relations at the Land and Maritime Ports Authority, announced that a shipment of Syrian phosphate is being loaded onto a ship for export in the coming days.

Aloush stated that the shipment weighs 14,000 tons and is headed to Egypt. It is the tenth shipment of its kind exported through Tartus Port, with the total volume of exported phosphate reaching 180,000 tons since the fall of the Assad regime—an indication that the export sector is regaining its vitality.

In a previous interview with the government-run SANA agency, Aloush mentioned that the phosphate extracted from the Khneifis mines in Hom's countryside is transported by truck to Tartus Port, where it is loaded onto ships bound for several destinations, notably Romania, Turkey, Kazakhstan, and India according to export contracts.

Aloush also noted a rise in new phosphate import requests from foreign countries due to its quality and competitive pricing.

The Russian company StroyTransGaz holds the rights to produce Syrian phosphate for fifty years, under a contract signed with Syria’s Ministry of Oil in 2018. Despite international sanctions, the phosphate has reached several European countries, including Italy.

There is currently no clear information about whether the Russian company is still actively extracting phosphate under the contract.

The first phosphate shipment—ten thousand tons—departed Tartus Port on May 22nd. Its destination was not officially specified, but it was most likely Russia, under a contract dating back to the previous regime.

In context, import and export activity in Syria is expected to increase following the lifting of most Western sanctions that had previously crippled the country. Thousands of trucks carrying various types of goods now cross to and from neighboring countries (notably Jordan). Syrian exports mostly consist of vegetables, fruits, sheep, clothing, and phosphate.

Moumin Sawady