THE hordes of small traders dragging shopping bags across East Europe and Asia have proved their economic might as a crumbling Warsaw sports stadium where they do business was ranked Poland's fifth largest exporter.

An independent survey showed that the daily "Europa Bazaar" in grimy eastern Warsaw accounted for $350 million (£220 million) of exports in 1995, just behind such giants as the state Weglokoks coal trader and the KGHM copper combine. The Gdansk based Institute for Market Economy Research said the bazaar had an estimated turnover of 1.2 billion zlotys (£277 million) last year and predicted this would rise to 1.5 billion zlotys in 1996.