Saudi authorities have been receiving a growing number of complaints lately about the local practice of commercial counterfeiting. The losses incurred by agents dealing foreign-made goods in the Kingdom are valued at over one billion Saudi riyals per annum, reported Al-Hayat.
Saudi Arabia enacted a law against counterfeiting nearly two decades ago, however enforcement lacks, creating a situation by which 40 percent of all consumer goods on the local market are counterfeit, according official commerce ministry figures. Ten to 15 percent of all imports reaching Saudi markets are believed to be carrying fake trademarks.
Although the ministry of commerce had launched several campaigns in a bid to cease the inflow of faked products, smugglers find inroads into Saudi markets. Popular faked products include toys, watches and perfumes, which are sold at a fraction of the cost of the real products. Counterfeit video and audiocassettes, computer software, clothes, handbags, auto parts and household products are also widely available, popular with tourists and residents alike.
Saudi sources charged various countries with dumping fake or counterfeit goods in the Kingdom’s market. Recent reports, indicating that 50 percent of Chinese goods sold in the Kingdom were counterfeit, were vehemently denied by Chinese diplomats, reported Arab News. — (Mena Report)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
