Commercial activity in Greater Beirut falls by 50% since 2010

As Safir newspaper published a report about the commercial activities in the clothing and footwear sector in Lebanon, which has been declining since 2010.  The president of the Association of Hamra Traders, Zuheir Itani, noted that this year was the worst since 1990 especially with the decrease in the number of foreign tourists, adding that the commercial activity has decreased by 50% since 2010. He also noted that activity was extremely weak even during the Eid.  Another clothing shop owner in Hamra noted that some shops owners were forced to lay off their employees and to reduce costs as much as possible.  He added that the situation has had its toll on all economic activities and has increased unemployment rate and subsequently decreased purchasing power.
A similar situation also prevails in the Mar Elias and the Moawwad markets where merchants say that commercial activity has decreased by 70% since 2010.  The president of the association of merchants of Moawwad", Issam Abdallah, warned about the present dangerous economic situation in the country which is further exacerbated by the road closure and which can lead to the total destruction of the commercial activity.  Markets in the Metn area do not fare any better according to the report as the activity is stagnating in Jdeideh, Zalka and Bourj Hammoud.  The president of the association of merchants in Zalka and Amaret Chalhoub, Philippe Samarani, noted that there is a 30% decline in sales compared to earlier years.

Source: Al-Safir 9 October 2014