Local products prioritized in
NGO purchases for displaced

Initiative by Association of Industrialists with ILO support

The Association of Industrialists (ALI) has launched an initiative with the support of the International Labour Organization (ILO) to give priority to local manufacturers in tenders launched by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to purchase products for the displaced during the reconstruction period.

Under this scheme, NGOs will prioritize local products in their purchases of consumer goods including food, clothing, detergents, electrical appliances, stationery, and personal and hygiene products for children, as well as medical and relief supplies.

ALI members will be informed of the needs of NGOs in order to be able to bid for tenders. Talal Hijazi, General Manager of ALI, said they have created a help desk for this purpose. He said that the local industrial sector is able to meet these needs because it manufactures a broad range of high-quality products in line with international standards. “NGOs don’t have to buy imported consumer goods from supermarkets or importers when they can purchase high-quality locally-manufactured products,” Hijazi said.

The number of locally displaced people (including Syrian nationals) reached 900,000, according to United Nation agencies. Around 1,900 hectares of agricultural land and pasture were burned during the war while 12,000 hectares of cropland could not be harvested. Livestock losses included more than one million chickens and over 18,000 heads of cattle.