BEIRUT: Nicolas Chammas, head of Beirut Merchants Association, said Friday that commercial activity during the Eid al-Fitr holiday was acceptable but less encouraging than that witnessed during the same period last year.

“The improvement this year has only been witnessed for a few days or weeks while recession is reigning most of the time,” he told Al-Markazia. Chammas said that the month of July witnessed good commercial activity, but the sector saw recession during the rest of the year.

Chammas added that the turmoil taking place in the Arab region prevented merchants from recuperatinglosses incurred in the month of Ramadan.

He said that if the current situation prevails till the end of this year, commercial activity will drop by 15 percent, but if the situation worsens, the drop would reach 25 percent.