Following the enforcement of strict new labour regulations in the central fruit and vegetables market in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a new black market for produce has arisen, according to Arab News.
The kingdom's Saudisation Committee, part of the ministry of labour, has barred any transactions by expatriate vegetable traders, which reportedly control almost a quarter of market stocks.
These traders are reportedly behind the black market, which is being run in an empty space in Jeddah, a space which many at the market had long considered ideal for the expansion of Jeddah's fruit and vegetable market.
Moatesim Abu Zinada, deputy chief of the vegetable brokers’ community in Jeddah, claimed to have made a number of suggestions to the municipality, including the conversion of the space to an annex to the central market, for the storage of fruits such as dates, to be managed by a company under the supervision of the brokers' community.
He equally demanded a parking area for workers and visitors to the market and recommended erecting a fence to keep out illegal traders.
