On Sunday, the Economic and Agriculture Board of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) opened the first cheese and dairy factory in the city of Derik, far northeast Syria.
“The production capacity of the factory per day reaches about 15 tons of milk, as there are three shifts per day, and each shift produces 4 to 5 tons of milk,” Hadiya Ali, co-chair of the Economic and Agricultural Board in the Jazira region, told North Press.
Ali added that there are about 25 workers, most of whom are women, as it is a female project.
The official pointed out that they will rely on locally produced milk in order to support livestock owners.
Regarding the support mechanism, Ali stated, “We will provide fodder at a price of 300 Syrian pounds (SYP) per kilo, while its price on the black market ranges between 600-1,000 SYP, in an exchange of obtaining cow’s milk.”
The Autonomous Administration is looking forward to “meet the region’s needs and achieve self-sufficiency through these projects”, according to the AANES official.
As for selling the production, Hadiya Ali explained that the production will be sold in the local markets in northeast Syria, and there will be more markets in the future.
While the official of the Cooperative Societies Committee in Qamishli, Ferdos Ali, said, they get milk from Derik, Tel-Hamis, Girke Lege, and Tirbe Spiyeh, and they are expanding the areas to get milk from.
They test the milk to check if it is suitable for use, and then it is transported to the factory, Ali added.
