February 17, 2023
Street vending has now been transformed into a legal sector of Iran’s economy.
Street vendors have always been around, but the authorities frequently crack down on them and drive them off the streets.
Amir Sayyah, an official with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance, recently announced legal recognition of street vending, saying those working as hawkers can now apply for a business permit.
“With the cooperation and help of municipalities and the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare, street vending will be considered a legal, productive job,” he said.
Many people have been upset when vendors were treated harshly. Street vending is not considered a criminal offense by law, but municipalities often say they confiscate the wares of street vendors because of the obstruction they posed to pedestrians and road traffic. In reality, the main driver was the complaints of shop owners who saw street vendors as unwanted competitors who avoided paying rent and could therefore sell more cheaply.
Hossein Raghfar, a professor of economics at Alzahra University, told the Etemad daily, “Peddlers make low earnings and have unsophisticated skills. They work without social security and insurance coverage…. The key question is what obligations this recognition creates for the government. Why did the government ignore these people so far? What is the government’s goal in giving legal status to this job now?”
Raghfar says, “Unfortunately, Iran’s economy has suffered dearly in recent years, such that rent accounts for a significant percentage of the price of goods in shops, as shopkeepers have to pay the rent of their shops by adding it to the price of goods. My estimate is that over 60 percent of the price of goods now goes for paying rent. This has become one of the reasons triggering economic recession in the country.”
Asked whether the recognition of street vending would increase employment, Raghfar said peddlers have always been included in employment statistics.
“The employment rate released by official statistical centers is not very close to the reality. Informal jobs are mostly counted in employment statistics. Informal jobs account for the lion’s share of the economy, not only in Iran but in most economies. Informal jobs constitute 60 percent of Iran’s economy,” he told Etemad.