File photo of a fabric shop in Old Damascus, Jan. 7, 2010. This illustrates local commerce and does not show the current Made in Syria festival in Barzeh. Photo: Steven Damron/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Photo source · License

A Made in Syria shopping festival opened in Damascus's Barzeh complex on Monday evening with 50 local companies, state news agency SANA reported.

The event, organized by the Damascus and Rural Damascus Chamber of Industry with the Damascus branch of Syrian Trade, is scheduled to run until Nov. 12.

Products on offer include food, cleaning supplies, cosmetics, textiles and engineering goods.

Chamber president Mohammed Ayman al-Mawlawi told SANA that some participating products were being sold at discounts of 30% to 50% compared with market prices. He said direct sales from manufacturers were intended to reduce intermediary costs.

Organizers are studying the possibility of holding future editions in other provinces, chamber board member Anas Trabulsi said.

Source: SANA