At the Andravoahangy market, seamstresses have stopped making flags several days before the Independence Day celebrations. “The market is dead quiet this year. Zero orders on the counter. It’s a hard blow, considering I usually handle around 1,000 to 1,500 orders per year,” says Berthine, considered the doyenne of flag makers at the Andravoahangy market. A seamstress for 26 years, she has specialized in creating national flags as each Independence Day approaches. This year, she produced 600, but has only managed to sell about a hundred.
Nearby, Joëline shares the same observation. This seamstress, who made about thirty flags for the Independence Day holiday, claims to have sold only one in the past month. For two consecutive years, sales have stagnated at this unsustainable rate for these seamstresses.
Consolidation
This decline in activity reportedly began earlier, with the onset of the Covid epidemic. “The standard of living has fallen. Even if customers come, they only buy the cheapest items. Moreover, this activity is becoming increasingly saturated, as we are no longer the only ones offering these products. But what really finishes us off is the competition from street vendors, who are more accessible,” Berthine continues, explaining the reasons for the drop in flag sales. They are calling for all sellers to be regrouped within the market to put an end to this unfair competition that is suffocating the formal sector.
Furthermore, the trend is obvious in the streets. With only one week left until Independence Day, houses displaying the national flag are rare. Is this shunning of seamstresses’ stalls a sign of growing disinterest in this celebration?
By Miangaly Ralitera
Captured & Published at: 2026-06-18 20:00:03 (Madagascar Local Time EAT)
Original Source: https://www.lexpress.mg/2026/06/produits-le-marche-du-drapeau-sature.html