At the Zenica green market last week, we found a sad scene, half-empty stalls, and a few customers. Sellers, as they pointed out on this occasion, are worried about the weak purchasing power of citizens, which is why they are dissatisfied with sales.
It is bought in smaller quantities
As they say, buyers come, inquire about prices, but few buy. Among the most frequent customers are pensioners who buy by the piece and only as much as they need. According to shopkeeper Mirsada Bajrić, the goods she has on the stalls are not selling well, the costs are high, while the market is almost non-existent.
“The stalls are empty, people are giving up on sales. The prices are higher compared to the incomes of citizens, especially pensioners who are our most frequent customers. I can’t say anything positive because this is really a disaster. There are fewer people coming to the market compared to the previous year. Nothing has gone up on my counter, but it’s hard to sell. During the day, we make 30 KM of expenses related to paying for the table, bags… while we cannot earn that amount during the day, so we are not at an advantage. Citizens buy by the piece, and for a long time it is not like before, when people bought by the kilo and did not ask about the price. Now it’s different, we’re looking at the best way to distribute the money,” says Bajrić.
Lala Burdalić, a shop assistant, shares the same opinion, and on this occasion she pointed out that, despite the low temperatures, they still try to sell as many products as possible.
“We are cold and not comfortable to work. What we earn during the day, we give for medicine because we often get sick due to bad working conditions. Citizens rarely come to us, and even when they want to buy something, they will go to shopping centers first. Most of the people who come to us are pensioners who buy an apple, an orange or a lemon, and that’s sad. I regret to reject a customer, so when I see that someone doesn’t have enough money, then I don’t charge, halal whatever.
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