Stock material invades the Hama market!

Series of steps

Mohammad Ahmed Habbazi

Many citizens of Hama say that the market is flooded with inefficient, low-quality and very inferior materials, but their prices are high compared to high-quality or international products, starting with detergents, shampoo, toothpaste, pocket lamps, bed sheets, etc. Industrial tools such as adhesives, lighters and switches. “Screwdrivers” and washing powder sold on sidewalk stalls, and food such as salmon, oil, beans, rice and sugar sold on street corners and in many places. In stores, medicines needed to treat patients are bought in three boxes of each, in addition to clothes and shoes of all types and for all ages.

They explain that they buy them because they are cheap, although their price is considered high compared to good products, and although they know that they are of inferior quality or come from “microfibers”, which are waste from the private sector or imported, pointing out that the private industrial sector produces these materials to adapt to the deteriorating purchasing power!

Ibrahim Nafi Kushji, a teacher and economic expert at the National University, explained this phenomenon from an economic perspective, believing that the Syrian economy has experienced tremendous challenges, starting with economic sanctions against Syria and increasing various production costs, and the most prominent challenge is the decline in consumer purchasing power, which has led to a decline in overall demand for goods and services. These challenges are also reflected in national public institutions and affect the treasury and the balance of Syrian pounds and foreign currencies in banks, leading to changes in financial and monetary policies, with the goal of resolving imbalances in bank budgets and cash reserves. In the short term, it has a negative impact on economic activities, manifested in the continued rise in prices of goods and services under a relatively stable exchange rate.

He added: This means that the quality of local products is low and expensive compared to the quality and price of international products, which shows the vulnerability of the private sector. He explained that when examining local products, these products are mainly dependent on foreign production needs, that is, imported primary and intermediate materials, there are many examples of production processes, such as refining, rice, oil, tea, cloth, ink bottles, even cattle, vegetable seeds, etc., which have an impact on the living standards of people with limited income in all economic sectors.

Koshji pointed out that all of this goes back to the old ways of supporting the private sector, and that one of the characteristics of the modern era is competitiveness as a reality that determines the success or failure of companies, which therefore requires companies to constantly work hard to gain and maintain competitive advantages in order to improve their market position and their ability to fight current and potential competitors.

He believes that policies supporting the private sector have become completely different from providing a monopolistic environment for its success. Tax and tariff exemptions for exporting enterprises and production subsidies are one of the most important tools to support domestic enterprises and obtain huge returns. The basic condition for the success of an enterprise is the ability to compete in local and foreign markets, and then attract outstanding talents with creative thinking ability, which will affect the company’s important activities, strive to attract customers and create added value. The value of local products, ultimately makes the company stand out from competitors.

In this way, he argues, development capacity will be re-injected into the private sector, supported by financial and monetary policies that provide the necessary financing for these enterprises, resulting in substantial tax revenues, increased foreign exchange, lower interest rates, an increase in inflation and unemployment, an increase in average incomes, and then an increase in overall demand for all goods and services, from housing all the way to food, transportation and treatment.