RIYADH: Cheap imports and fake goods from East Asian countries now constitute a large portion of the products being sold in Saudi Arabia.
Long gone are the days when the Saudi market was full of high-quality electronics and other consumer products. Instead of globally-recognized brands, cheap imports and fake goods from East Asian countries now constitute a large portion of the products being sold in markets all over Saudi Arabia.
Although the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has exerted great efforts to curb the import of counterfeit and poor quality products, their efforts have failed to stem the flow, Al-Riyadh daily reports.
Issa Al-Issa, a spokesman for Saudi Customs, said over 84 million fake goods have been seized since the beginning of 2015, of which 400,000 were fake auto spare parts while 372,000 constituted fake medications.
“We use the World Customs Organization’s Interface Public-Members to fight commercial fraud and counterfeiting. The system provides detailed information about companies’ registered products so fake ones can be identified. We also work with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to secure all customs points and prevent any fake goods from entering the market,” he said.
According to Manal Al-Shareef, the former Consumer Protection Association’s (CPA) Makkah Region branch manager, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry should be held responsible for the fake products that have swept through Saudi markets. She suggested stiffer penalties on anyone that imports counterfeit products.
“The ministry’s penalties are not commensurate with the serious implications the fake products proliferating the market could have for consumer safety. The ministry should impose stricter penalties and rid the market of these inferior quality goods, which are both dangerous for the consumer and bad for the economy,” she said, while calling on the authorities to give the CPA more leeway to perform its tasks and provide better services that are free of bureaucratic red tape.
Al-Shareef said all concerned authorities that are in charge of consumer protection should work together to prevent fake goods from reaching Saudi markets. She also said the current teams tasked with monitoring markets for fake goods are understaffed and incapable of doing their jobs effectively.
“Why are businesses that sell fake products not being named and shamed in the media? Sometimes, fines are not enough. A lot of these businesses sell most of their counterfeit goods before inspectors even find out about them. In such cases, fines are very low because they are determined based on the amount of goods confiscated,” she explained.
