Syria ranks 20 internationally and comes third in the Arab world in citrus production as estimates in Lattakia Agriculture Directorate say the city's production of citrus this year is 888.000 tons. Director of Lattakia Agriculture Ahmad Hakim said that thousands of families work in this successful and stable plant crop due to the availability of suitable conditions for this national production including land, water and environment. "Citrus cover nearly 38.000 hectares in this Mediterranean city, with 13 millions trees, of which 12 millions are fruitful…. The planted area in Lattakia is estimated at 31.000 hectares with citrus occupy 80% of this area," Hakim added. Citrus is a main strategic crop in Syria that comes after wheat and cotton. During the last season, Syria has exported citrus to Iraq, Russia, Ukraine and Romania.