Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
Sweida, SANA- The southern province of Sweida is famous of grapes production and the cultivation of grapes where almost 10,000 hectares are planted with vines.
Sweida has 4 million 760 thousand vineyards, of which 4 million 231 thousand are productive, according to figures from the province’s Directorate of Agriculture.
The Deputy Director of Agriculture in Sweida, Alaa Shuheb, said that the total estimates of the production for the current season reached 54,360 tons compared to 50,959 tons during the last season.
He added that the cultivation of grapevines is concentered in areas of Daher al-Jabel ,al-Kafr ,Mayamas ,al-Sahwa ,Arman , Qanawat and Shahba.
Shuheb mentioned that the cultivated area with vineyards decreased from 11,000 hectares in 2006 to 9,996 hectares nowadays due to the fact that some farmers replaced their cultivation with apples.
“Grape cultivation is gradually recovering thanks to its economic feasibility for farmers.” Shuheb said.
It should be mentioned that many local industries are based on grapes, including grape syrup, which is in great demand due to its nutritional value, and raisin, which is considered an important traditional food industry.
Hybah/GH.A.Hassoun
