West Beqaa Saturday Market for low-income classes facing difficulties

The Saturday popular souk occupies a 3-acre land on the road connecting the Western Beqaa town of Jib Janin and the village of Kafraya. Vendors rent the land from its owner with the help of the region’s municipality in order to display their goods. The rented space is divided into multiple stands occupied by diverse sellers advertising a variety of cheap agricultural products, fruits, clothes and household utensils that meet the needs of the poor and low-income inhabitants of the area. Abu Ali, a merchant of used European clothing and footwear, says: “I sell my goods at a low price for my customers who are largely poor and low-wage earners.” He went on to say that generally the economic and living means of people have become meagre. “I used to make USD100-200 in a day, but now I buy the supplies and pay transport cost in order to generate only LP50, 000 for the entire day,” Abu Ali said. The origin of displayed goods is both from Lebanese farmers or imported from abroad. One of the famers grieved for not being capable to market his domestic goods as a result of fierce competition from imports, saying “my potato harvest is still unpicked and laying on the ground while Egyptian potato is flooding the local markets”. (Al Diyar, 9 March 2015)