Shopkeepers boycott black marketing of fruit and vegetables

       The Bayrampasa and Kadikoy Markets, functioning under the Istanbul Greater City Municipality, have launched a boycott against the black marketing of fruit and vegetables. The shopkeepers of the markets have stopped their purchases from the center of distribution.
       The prices in these centers fell around 30 to 40% when the markets in Istanbul stopped their purchases. It is as yet unknown how long the boycott will last. The shopkeepers of the markets demand that the "Markets Law" put to effect in 1995 in order to prevent unregistered economy be implemented properly. They point out that there are "pirate market-places" in Kartal, Sultanbeyli, and Bahcelievler, and that unauthorised people were selling out of trucks in the back streets of Istanbul.
       Istanbul Fruits and Vegetables Commissioners Association (IMESCOM) Chairman Burhan Er said they would keep boycotting until pirate sellers are prevented. Er also criticised some supermarkets who were not doing their purchases directly from the producers.
       "Our 701 are against the failure of the implementation of the law," Er said. "The law says that every purchase of fruits and vegetables ought to be registered, but this law is implemented only with our shopkeepers, they are the only ones paying taxes. We say that everyone ought to give out receipts to whoever they sell. If 3000 trucks deliver goods to Istanbul everyday, 1700 of these never enter the marketplaces, they just sell off on the street. The state should monitor all sales," said the chairman.