ANKARA

A cargo ship carrying wheat docked at the Port of Latakia in northwestern Syria on Sunday, marking the country’s first such arrival since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime last year.

“The first wheat shipment has arrived at Latakia Port following Syria’s liberation and the fall of the former regime,” the state news agency SANA said.

The broadcaster, however, did not disclose the shipment’s origin or the quantity of wheat onboard.

In March, the Syrian government issued tenders to purchase 200,000 tons of wheat, the largest procurement effort since the ousting of the Assad regime, according to local media.

Following the collapse of the former regime in December, Russia suspended its wheat exports to Syria, ending years of steady supply during Assad's rule.

In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine had delivered 500 tons of flour to Syria under the “Grain from Ukraine” humanitarian aid initiative, in coordination with the World Food Program.

Meanwhile, the newly established Syrian administration has been working to secure the nation’s wheat needs and restore trade ties, especially with neighboring Türkiye.

In February, Erhan Gunhan Ulusoy, head of the Turkish Flour Industrialists’ Federation, told Anadolu that Türkiye is expected to export over 400,000 tons of wheat flour to Syria in 2025.

Assad, who ruled Syria for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, ending the Baath Party’s decades-long rule that began in 1963.

A transitional administration was formed in Syria in late January, dissolving the constitution, security services, armed factions, parliament, and the Baath Party.