100.000 illegal merchants caused a loss worth 400 billion DA in 2011

Algiers(11/1/2012)- Total number of parallel markets in Algeria reaches over 100.000 anarchic points of sale, the National Union of Merchants and Craftsmen said, on Monday.

The NUMC added that the parallel trade flourished during 2011 and increased by 20%, amid fears that this percentage may increase to 30% in 2012, if government will not take necessary measures to stop it.

The year 2011 noticed a rise in the number of legal traders, who reached 1.6 million, after it was 1.5 million in 2010. This increase caused a remarkable spread of the parallel trade, and traders occupied a lot of public squares, sidewalks, entrances of schools and mosques, to the extent it disturbs citizens due to the anarchy and disorder which overwhelmed many towns.

Spokesman of the union, Hadj Taher Boulenouar, asserted that the parallel trade has expanded to include spare parts, clothing, food and cosmetics, which is spreading widely in the big towns, including Algiers, Oran and Constantine, in addition to the border regions due to the trafficking and black market which had close links with parallel or illegal trade.

The Interior Ministry, has announced in 2011 its willingness to take some action in order to absorb the public anger after the protests of youth and riots in many Algerian towns. At that time the Interior Minister Ould Kablia asserted that government is preparing a project to stop sidewalks sellers through creating small markets, and allocating some spaces licensed by the authorities to practice commercial activities, adding that he will give instructions for immediate launch of the project through distribution of hundreds of shops for youth traders.

However; these procedures were not applied and the phenomenon of illegal traders is growing every day amid the failure of local authorities to free these spaces.

According to the representative of the Union of Algerian Merchants, the parallel trade caused an annual loss of over 400 billion DA (40.000 billion centimes, equivalent to $5.4 b), wondering about the fate of those measures taken under the Finance Act 2010, which intended to reduce the volume of illegal business activities.

“Apart from security services that combat the phenomenon of parallel trade, the local authorities and Trade Ministry failed to confront the phenomenon despite the available potential and means to make the right strategy. Government also failed in making a strategy with objective points to combat unemployment, because it resorts always to prosthetic solutions”.