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Syria has played an important and prominent role in theindustrial progress for a long time because of the important geographical location and its mediation between the three continents,Europe,Asia andAfrica, where theSyrian people were able to see the different nations, benefit and develop them. Therefore,Damascus is the most famous city for the endemicity of handicrafts that depend on individual skills. Industry has been a vital part of theEconomy of Syria for many years. Major industries include;petroleum,textiles,food processing,beverages,tobacco,phosphate rock mining,cement,oil seeds crushing andcar assembly.[1]
Industry is the responsibility of theMinistry of Industry and has been heavily disrupted by theSyrian civil war.
Syria has producedcotton since ancient times, and its cultivation increased in importance in the 1950s and 1960s. Until superseded bypetroleum in 1974, cotton was Syria's most important industrial and cash crop, and the country's most importantforeign exchange earner, accounting for about one-third of Syria's export earnings. In 1976, the country was the tenth largest cotton producer in the world and the fourth largest exporter. Almost all the cotton was grown on irrigated land, largely in the area northeast of Aleppo. Syrian cotton was medium staple, similar to cotton produced in other developing countries but of lower quality than the extra-long staple variety produced in Egypt. The cotton was handpicked, although mechanical pickers were tried in the 1970s in an attempt to hold down rising labor costs. Syria is currently 7% of the total globalcotton production.[2] By 2020, the industry returned to pre-war levels.[3] In theCOVID-19 pandemic in Syria, cotton facemasks are being made.[4]
Banking is regulated by theMinistry of Finance. As of 2018, there were 14 private banks, including threeIslamic banks in Syria.[5]
According to theInternational Monetary Fund, before theSyrian Civil War, oil sales for 2010 were projected to generate $3.2 billion for the Syrian government and accounted for 25.1% of the state's revenue.[6]