Street vendors in Riyadh, Jeddah make SR380 million a year: Study

Saudi Gazette report MAKKAH — Street vendors in Riyadh and Jeddah collectively earn up to SR380 million annually, according to an economic researcher quoted by Makkah Arabic daily. Hamid Al-Mutairi said he chose to conduct his research in Riyadh and Jeddah because they are the biggest cities in the Kingdom and have the highest population density. “Riyadh and Jeddah are the biggest contributors to the Saudi economy. Street trade is a prevalent phenomenon in both cities so I wanted to find out how much it contributes to the economy,” said Al-Mutairi. He said vegetable vendors alone earn up to SR144 million a year from street trade. “It was hard to get accurate data because street vending without a license is illegal. In order to get a rough estimate, I contacted the municipalities to find how many carts they seize and how many vendors they arrest in a year,” said Al-Mitairi. He said random street vendors are part of what is called hidden economy. “Hidden economy is an active market that generates considerable returns but is illegal or unregulated. Hidden economic activities include street vending, car washing, street entertainments, private tutoring, private transportation services and many more. In the hidden market, one often finds illegal workers and various violations,” said Al-Mutairi. He also said irrespective of the legality of these economic activities they still generate a considerable amount of economic returns. “Hidden economic activities cover various operations, including manufacture and supply. Hidden markets do not abide by commercial regulations and sell their products for the prices they wish. They only care about meeting the demand, with scant regard for the legality of the products or their quality,” said Al-Mutairi. "The hidden economies are as harmful as they are lucrative," he said. “A country is responsible for the safety of its people. The municipalities are taking positive steps to address the problem. They have legalized street vending for Saudis. So whoever wishes to sell in street markets can do so following strict procedures. They also run frequent inspection campaigns to seize any illegal products that could potentially be dangerous to the consumer,” said Al-Mutairi.