Marketplace

Fruit and vegetable producers now have the option - under certain conditions - of selling their produce at open-air markets in different regions to where it is cultivated, according to a ministerial decision published on Wednesday in the Government Gazette.

A man leaves the farmers' market in the Peloponnesian town of Argos on Saturday. Business was slow at the weekly street market due to the wet weather and the coronavirus lockdown.

The government directions issued for open-air markets have so far been adhered to by 95 percent, said Development Minister Adonis Georgiadis on Skai TV on Saturday.

Development Minister Nikos Papathansis on Thursday announced plans to relieve congestion at neighborhood farmers' markets across the country - a mainstay for most Greek households - by breaking them up into smaller parts.

New measures are being examined to further reduce crowding at open-air markets and supermarkets, Development Minister Adonis Georgiadis said on Saturday.
He told Open TV that "at the moment open-air markets and supermarket are operating in a satisfactory fashion."

Istanbul's historical Grand Bazaar, one of the oldest surviving shopping centers in the world, has been completely closed to visitors as part of the measures Turkey has taken in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Until March 23, people could visit the historical venue between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. only through two entrances.

As the death toll from the new coronavirus rose to eight and the number of infections to 495 on Friday, the government announced fresh measures to protect the public from the rapidly spreading epidemic.

Health Ministry representative Sotiris Tsiodras on Friday announced new measures to curb the spread of coronavirus, saying that all malls, cafes, bars and food outlets to close though supermarkets are to remain open. 

Food outlets offering home delivery service will be able to continue those, he said. 

The central markets of Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras and the ten fishmarkets of the country that supply the majority of fresh produce in the wider market are continuing their operations as usual, their management said on Thursday.

The markets are however adherring to government directives for hygiene and the protection of the public, they added.

The historical Grand Bazaar, one of the oldest surviving shopping centers in the world, has been largely deserted for the last 10 days due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak, shopkeepers have complained.

The covered market shops made a good start in 2020, said Hasan Fırat, the head of the shopkeepers' association at the Grand Bazaar.