On the verge of bankruptcy and the absolute impasse is the retail industry in the free province of Famagusta, according to the image presented to Famagusta.News by the president of Paralimni stores, Markos Passis.
Purchasing traffic is down 70%, he explains, while costs are running high and warehouses are suffocatingly full of goods waiting to be sold.
"Today, not a single customer entered the store, and the situation is the same in most stores," says Mr. Passis in despair.
He explained that in our province 80% of the residents are engaged in tourism businesses and during this period they are either unemployed or working part-time.
"Retail stores don't sell basic necessities, so we don't expect the unemployed to come and buy new shoes or even clothes," he said.
In fact, according to him, the fact that many weddings and baptisms have been annulled plays a role, so people don't need new things.
As the industry emphasizes, it is disappointed with the support measures announced by the government.
"We all have an expiration date after what was decided," he said.
"But this time we are determined to claim and convince the government that we deserve more attention and support so that we can restart our businesses."
To survive, they are calling for support from both the state and the municipality.
As a link, they prepared a letter which they sent to the Municipality, requesting reductions in taxes and municipal fees.
In addition, the association invites all shopkeepers, at the end of the month, by paying the rent to the shop owners, to request a cut in rent for the two months that the businesses were closed due to the lockdown.
Famagusta.News