JEDDAH: The Jeddah municipality has again been out on the streets trying to stamp out unlicensed fruit and vegetable traders with random checks and the confiscation of their goods but it does not appear to be working.
Despite the risk of losing their trolleys and produce, the vendors — mainly Yemenis and Bangladeshis — are not intimidated. Once the municipality inspectors leave they are back selling their goods.
“Municipality inspectors carry out spot checks and seize the goods we sell. Sometimes they warn us and say that if we continue then they’ll take us to the police,” said Amer, a Yemeni fruit and vegetable seller.
“However, as soon as they leave we’re back in business again. They can’t stop us; it’s simple as that. The stuff we sell is cheap and people buy from us,” he added.
On Monday, officials from the municipality confiscated truckloads of canned food and other goods from unlicensed street vendors near the central market in south Jeddah.
“These efforts are carried out because of the municipality’s concerns for the public’s health. We monitor the activities of street sellers and send out teams to look for unlicensed trolleys and vendors around the clock. We search for locations in front of shopping malls and public schools and on main roads,” said Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, deputy mayor of south Jeddah.
Al-Ghamdi added that the municipality recently seized a number of pickup trucks loaded with all sorts of discarded material and clothes. “Around 12 pickups were seized in this operation,” he added.
However, it is not just fruit and vegetables that are being sold on the streets of major Saudi towns and cities. Secondhand goods are often sold out in the open, especially in streets close to south Jeddah’s central market in the Ghulail district. Most buyers tend to be low-income expatriate workers.
“Every Friday afternoon, a huge number of Bangladeshi laborers and people of other nationalities gather here in the open to trade in used items. They buy new stuff and sell secondhand stuff to other expatriates,” said Majed, a local resident.
“Furniture here is much cheaper than what is sold in the markets of north Jeddah. In addition, people can also bargain, something that people cannot do in fancy shopping areas in the north of Jeddah,” he added.
In its raid on Monday, municipality officials confiscated substantial amounts of used clothing. Confiscated food items are usually sorted — stock that is suitable for human consumption are given to local charities and the rest thrown into trash bins. Also on Monday 76 wooden trolleys were confiscated and destroyed, and three overstayers were handed into the custody of the Passport Department.
