Many food items are now half their pre-revolution prices, whilst some goods that were previously unavailable – such as higher quality meat and Jordanian lemons – are back on market stalls.

According to shop owners, deflation has been a result of the reduction in transport costs after the removal of thousands of military checkpoints across the country.

Military personnel would routinely demand payment for safe passage through checkpoints, significantly increasing the cost of getting food from farms to the market.

“Between Damascus and the agricultural areas in Daraa there were hundreds of checkpoints. It was the same for Homs,” said Abu Jamil, 47, a greengrocer at the Souk al-Hal in central Damascus.

“They were all controlled by the Fourth Division,” he added, referring to the army unit commanded by Bashar al-Assad’s notoriously rapacious brother, Maher al-Assad.

During the war, with state revenues in tatters, the Fourth Division asserted control over many areas of the economy in a bid to extract rent from any available opportunity.

But with the checkpoints gone, the prices for many goods has plummeted.

Potatoes are less than half their former price, falling from SYP 9,000 per kilogram ($0.75) to SYP 4,000 ($0.33).

Bananas from Lebanon have fallen by a third, whilst olive oil from the northern province of Idlib is just a quarter of the price Damascenes were paying in November last year.

According to the FX tracking website, black market dollar rates for the Syrian lira surged to 22,000 around the time of Assad’s downfall, but have since stabilised at approximately 12,000 this week.

Other popular consumables such as cigarettes, where wholesale was monopolised by the Fourth Division, have also fallen dramatically. A pack of 20 cigarettes that cost SYP 13,000 just a month ago, now sells for SYP 7,000.

Experts have pointed to two other factors easing the prices of foodstuffs. The sustained decrease in the exchange rate of the Syrian lira has allowed imports to become less expensive.

Meanwhile, the collapse of the Assad government’s armed forces has increased the amount of available food for sale on domestic markets.

“The basic goods that used to be prioritised for the 170,000 soldiers are now diverted into the market and this in turn has increased the supply,” said Mohamad Ahmad, an economist at Karam Shaar Advisory.

“The decrease in prices could be sustainable,” added Ahmad, “especially if other factors remain stable such as customs and taxes, and certainly the stability of the exchange rate.”

Whilst the falling cost of putting meat and vegetables on the table certainly helps make daily life more affordable for many Syrians, there is a risk that new government policies could make bread prices double in the near future.

In the last week, the interim minister for internal trade and consumer protection, Maher Khalil al-Hasan, announced a controversial plan to scrap the bread subsidy in Syria within the next two months.

Bread had been one of the few goods which the former government continued to subsidise throughout the conflict.

Meanwhile, the news on food prices is also tempered by the wider economic malaise that poses serious challenges for Syrians in the immediate future.

Syria’s economy collapsed during the conflict, contracting by 84 percent according to World Bank data, pushing nearly 90 percent of Syrians into poverty.

Economic recovery is hampered by far-reaching sanctions imposed by the West on individuals and institutions associated with the former government and entities designated as a terrorist organisation, notably Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, which led the offensive against Assad.

In an interview with Reuters, Hasan warned that Syria faces a “catastrophe” if sanctions are not lifted, as they prevent the import of vital goods such as fuel, wheat, and other essentials.

The most comprehensive of these sanctions regimes is the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, passed by the US Congress in 2019. It severely restricts Syria’s ability to import or export nearly all goods.

The Joe Biden administration has announced some sanctions waivers for activities crucial to providing humanitarian assistance and supporting economic recovery, such as energy provision.

However, with many sanctions still in effect, the full impact of these waivers remains to be seen.

“Syria seeks to chart a new course following the fall of the former regime just one month ago. Decisions taken now will determine the future for a long time to come. There are great opportunities and real dangers,” UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen told the Security Council.

Pedersen expressed the UN’s readiness to provide support to Syria to “get the next phase right.”

Highlighting the new government’s meetings with a “very broad range” of representatives and groups in Syria, he urged the administration to “extend the hand of reassurances and trust to all communities in Syria, fostering the active engagement of all in building Syria.”

“There are also very real threats to Syria’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity,” Pedersen added, warning about continued attacks by the PKK/YPG and its affiliate SDF.

“The northeast, as well as part of Aleppo city, remain under the control of SDF and YPG,” he said.

“I continue to call for and support the further development of all channels of dialog, and to urge all parties to find a way forward without military confrontation,” he added.

Pedersen expressed concern over “continued Israeli military presence and activity, including beyond the area of separation, in violation of the 1974 disengagement agreement.”

Calling on the Israeli army to end restrictions on freedom of movement, the UN envoy stressed that “attacks on Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must stop.”

He also demanded Israel to end attacks on civilians and warned that the attacks “further jeopardize the prospects for an orderly political transition.”

“I welcome the recent issuance of a new temporary general license by the United States government, but much more significant work in fully addressing sanctions and designations will inevitably be necessary,” he said.

Pedersen noted Security Council Resolution 2254, which encourages a cease-fire and political settlement, can no longer “be applied in the literal manner” as he stated that the Assad government will not be included in any future talks.

“Clearly, there is a need for a new approach, and months of thinking on many fronts,” he added.

The collapse of the Syrian government on Dec. 8 coincided with an escalation of Israeli military attacks on the country.

The Israeli army began destroying military infrastructure and facilities left by the Syrian army and expanded its occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights.

Israeli forces, which entered the buffer zone around the Golan Heights, carried the occupation further and penetrated as far as 25 kilometers (15.53 miles) from Damascus.