YT made a tour of the markets of Sana’a and came out with this report. Retailers said that the most saleable goods during Ramadan are spices such as cumin, pepper, thyme, cinnamon and saffron that are used in preparing meals for fasting people.

Spices: Most Salable Goods
Malek Al-Hamdani, a retailer, said that his rate of spices selling rose to 35%, higher than the period before Ramadan. This is because those spices are used in preparing heavy and light meals, desserts and in cooking meat.

Consumption of Dates
Mahdi Al-Mahjari, a seller of dates, said, “Consumers prefer buying dates imported from Saudi Arabia for their high quality and competitive prices compared to dates locally produced in Tehama and Hadramaut.” He added that his sales of dates increased by 65% specially because most fasting people consider dates as a main meal for beginning their Iftar (fast breaking) which provides them with energy and nutrition.
Merchants said that production of dates in Yemen is insufficient to cover local demand. The volume of local dates’ production is 427 thousand tons a year. However, merchants import about 180 thousand tons to cover the local demand. According to retailers, sales of sugar, Yemeni coffee, beans, peas, canned juice, powdered milk increased by 45% at the beginning of Ramadan. This is higher than sales in other months. Retailers’ profits increase and local markets revive.

Ahmad Al-Odaini, a consumer, said that his salary, about $100 a month, is insufficient for buying Ramadan requirements all at once. He buys some foodstuffs basic for Iftar, dinner and Sahour meals. He does not buy meat or fruits.

Amin Hizam Al-Huhali, a consumer, said that some limited-income families resort to borrowing to cover expenses and the high prices of foodstuffs needed for Ramadan which is a season for more profit to merchants.

A visitor to the fruits and vegetable market in Al-Hasaba Center, Sana’a, in the afternoons of Ramadan will witness crowds of people buying locally produced vegetables. Unemployed people also become active in Ramadan and work in different jobs like selling Samosa which is made from flour paste with minced meat, eggs or cooked vegetables. They sell Samosa to fasting people.

Lahooh Industry increases Family Income
Income of families, making some kind of bread called Lahooh, increase in Ramadan. Women make large quantities of Lahooh which is made from flour, corn or sorghum mixed with honey, soup, ghee or milk to be served for the fasting people.

Fatima Al-Matary, a Lahooh seller in Bab Al-Yemen, said that she prepares about 200 to 250 pieces of bread every day during Ramadan and sells each piece for 20 rials. This allows her to make much money for days to come.
This bristling economic activity is not confined to poor families or jobless people alone. Restaurants in main cities witness a similar activity. They prepare Iftar and dinner meals for people who come to Sana’a from other cities. They prepare different kinds of food that can go well with food habits in different areas of Yemen so that customers feel as if they are at home. As a result, restaurant-owners gain much money during this month.
To sum up, we realized, after this tour of the markets of Sana’a, that Ramadan is a month for worshipping God, boosting local markets and offering job opportunities for unemployed people among whom are women who become active in selling different kinds of bread like Lahooh. This allows them to save money for the “rainy days”.

It’s impossible these days not to notice the Saudi products flooding the Yemeni markets whether legally imported, or smuggled. Products such as electronics, spare parts, electricity generators, perfumes and medical stuff.
Retailer Abdah Mershid Amer described the flow of Saudi products into the Yemeni market as commercial invasion which allowed those legal or even smuggled products to be present in every market in big cities and in villages as well. Not only competing with local products, consequently reducing its sales, but also creating a state of unbalance in commercial exchange between the two countries. Statistics show the exchange ratio approaches 70% in favor of Saudi products reaching a value of 200 million dollars, that too without taking the smuggled products into consideration.

Total worth of legally imported products through Saudi Arabia
More than 450 million dollars is dedicated every year for importing goods from Gulf, Arab and Europe countries through Saudi Arabia.
That was what sources of the ministry of supply and trade told the Yemen Times. However there aren’t any figures telling us about smuggled goods.
It was added that because of the policy of foreign trade liberation followed according to the Yemeni economic reform program, private sector traders encouraged the flow of the Saudi products in order to fulfill the demand of the Yemeni market. Which caused less opportunity for local products to find place compared with cheaper Saudi products.

Consumption capacity in Yemen
Merchant Fawaz Saleh Ahmed from Alhasaba Commercial Market, said that the large consumption capacity of the Yemeni market and the fact that 2 million of the population were at some time living in Saudi Arabia, was the primary reason that encouraged importing Saudi products which has a good reputation in Yemen. While at the same time like some is not happening with the Yemeni merchants with respect to the Saudi market.
“All that those importers care for is how to make more money in less time regardless of whether this act would cause harm to the Yemeni economy, that it’s the industrial and agricultural sector only who should be concerned.” he exclaimed,

Saudi Products in the Yemeni Markets
Although, The Economic Reform program implemented by the government since 1995 aims at increasing Yemeni exports, yet the opposite has been happening. This is because of the low quality of industrial and agricultural products that encouraged private commercial sectors to import Saudi products, in order to cover the need in the Yemeni market for those products. Starting with building materials passing by entertainment and electronic devices and ending with food stuff and soft drinks.

It’s the brand
Consumer Abdullah Hamood Al-Noor told YT that those products have high qualities and they prefer buying them because they know that Saudi producer doesn’t counterfeit in producing such products.
Despite the fact that Yemeni products are almost similar to Saudi ones but consumers see them as imitations of Saudi products which they prefer. That led forty factory owners to declare bankruptcy and to close down the factories two years ago being unable to compete with imported products.

Smuggled materials
The major problem, Yemeni markets are suffering from is the enormous quantities of smuggled goods. Middlemen from both sides smuggle goods like electronics, medicines, spare parts, perfumes and many other things and sell them in Yemen at prices less than legally imported goods.
Merchants confirm that this dual smuggling harms both countries, confuses commercial exchange and affects profits of private sector.
People coming from ‘Hardh’ border check point told YT that middlemen smuggle ‘qat’, live stock, honey and Yemeni cigarettes to the Saudi side. Even laborers to work in the southern parts of the kingdom. Smuggling usually takes place at night, using donkeys and cars. Smugglers avoid custom check points at the borders.

The Tragedy!
The flow of smuggled goods into the Yemeni market has effected negatively Yemeni industrialists and agricultural producers both financially and sentimentally. They found their products in a tough competition with cheaper and better-made imported cum-smuggled products. While the Yemeni products have no market in Saudi Arabia.
When questioned, Yemeni industrial sources said that the production high cost of industrial and agricultural products doesn’t allow us to export those products to the Saudi markets. And this is due to the absence of government financial support as well as the existence of primitive means of production. Shortage of water led to the decrease of fruit and vegetable production. 
Yet, grocer Adel Masoud Azzan said:”We have an abundance of potatoes, fruits and vegetables that can be exported to the markets of Saudi Arabia”. This grocer drew out attention to a big pile of potato confirming it was in abundant amounts. He also said, those abundant amounts need to be determined and priced. There is also a need to ensure a marketing mechanism supported by the government.

Action needs to be taken
Sources from the Yemeni Industrial and Agricultural Chamber told YT that the Saudi - Yemeni agreement is to eliminate all obstacles in the way of exports , avoid dual taxation, prevent tax evasion and facilitate people and goods transportation. And this requires practical measures taken by the Coordination Council in the two countries that treat the unbalanced commercial exchange. The government should study the reasons which led to the decline in Yemeni exports and try to treat them scientifically.
If the Yemeni-Saudi relations were to flourish on economical basis equally benefiting the two parties, first of all the 283 million dollars due to the Saudi Kingdom should be settled down, and they both should together try to eliminate all obstacles in the dual partnership of trading between the two countries. Saudi Arabia should inaugurate preservation centers in it’s markets, for Yemeni agricultural products to be distributed afterwards in that country, exactly the same way Saudi products are treated in Yemen.

The reputation of Aden seaport seems to be tarnished following the bombing incident of the USS Cole on October 12. Arab and international shipping companies warned their ships against anchoring for fueling there.
However, sources from the Free Zone said that investment requests had not been affected by the incident and that the first phase of the industrial area would begin in March, 2001. He added that the Free Zone had so far received 780 requests of investment

The Yemen Society for Consumer Protection attributed price-rise during Ramadan to traders’ monopoly and increase of demand. It added that the consumers may be in control of the situation by purchasing only the basic necessities.

The Agricultural Cooperative Union is working jointly with the Yemeni Economic Corporation to finance the first phase of repairs and maintaining Souk M’abar in Dhamar at the cost of US$ 3.40 million. The project includes providing storerooms, refrigerators with capacity of 11 thousand tons, improve production of potatoes to export 30 thousand tons of it to Europe every year.

The Islamic Bank for Development is financing 70% of the cost of constructing 5 dam in Abyan early in 2001. The total cost of the project is US$ 3 million to which the government contributes by 30%.

The total national production of wheat last year was 140 thousand tons while consumption of wheat reached 1.5 million tons. During the same year the government spent 56 billion Rials on foods aids.

Recent economic reports have established that about 85% of the petrol stations in Sana’a cheat consumers either by mixing other materials with petrol or by playing with counters. 157 oil stations have so far been spotted and closed down.