Street Vending and Market Trading During the COVID-19 Crisis: Pathways of Impact and Recovery in Nine Cities

This report draws on interviews with street vendors and market traders in nine cities – Accra, Ghana; Ahmedabad, India; Bangkok, Thailand; Delhi, India; Durban, South Africa; Lima, Peru; Mexico City, Mexico; New York, USA; and Pleven, Bulgaria – in mid-2020 and again with the same workers in mid-2021. Key points include:

• Earnings: By mid-2021, while eight out of every 10 street vendors and market traders were back at work, average earnings had recovered to only 60% of pre-COVID-19 levels. 
• Decreased demand and increased prices of inputs: As restrictions were eased, reduced customer demand and lower purchasing power among their clientele converged with rising prices of stock and input, explaining reduced earnings. 
• Harassment: Over one-quarter of street vendors reported harassment by law enforcement officers between mid-2020 and mid-2021. Reports were particularly prevalent in Lima (80 per cent), Delhi (66 per cent), Ahmedabad (39 per cent), and Durban (28 per cent). 
• Food security: In mid-2021, 63% of respondents reported skipping meals or eating a low variety of foods in the past month, 32% of interviewees reported adult hunger and 25% child hunger in their households. 
• Street vendor organizations were a key source of support to their members, facilitating access to government support measures and initiating interventions to protect their members’ health and well-being. 
• Recommendations include a call to “do no harm” – an end to punitive practices of ticketing, confiscation, and evictions – and to provide access to well-located workspaces with appropriate infrastructure and clear and fair regulations.