Rain hitting HCM City’s market workers in the pocket

Business activities at markets in Ho Chi Minh City have become quieter during the rainy season as many people do not want to shop during bad weather.

A gloomy scene at markets in Ho Chi Minh City on wet days

A vegetable dealer rushing to the road to look for customers

At Phan Van Nghi near Go Vap Market, on rainy days, passers will see vegetable sellers touting customers.

Usuallly, the local markets are crowded every late afternoon when labourers finish their work and buy food for dinner. But, in the rainy season, a different scene takes place here as traders can only draw small number of customers. Many sellers have free time to "watch the rain" instead of being busy serving customers as they would like to be.

"Only a few consumers have come to the market over the last three rainy months. I bring the goods closer to the pavement for sale, but still find it hard to attract customers despite active invitations. The amount of goods sold during rainy season is equal to less than half of that during the rest of the year,” Mrs Luong, a fish seller at Go Vap Market said with sadness.

Many vegetable traders even rush into road beds to seek customers. The scene inside the market is much worse. Most of sellers fail to lure customers who are hurrying to step over puddles.

“It is hard for us to attract customers on rainy days as they are afraid of going to markets in the unpleasant weather. I can count how many people who drop in my stall each day," said a clothes seller.

Traders at Tan Dinh, Da Kao, Ba Chieu and Phan Van Tri markets also complained about the same situation.

Ho Thi Van Anh, a customer in Binh Thanh district, said she rarely goes to markets for food during the rainy season. “I often come to supermarkets to buy food for the whole week and only go to markets for small items," Anh added.

To cover slow sales thanks to rain, dealers at these markets must try to keep regular customers. Many of them even have to open new sales channels such as online or home delivery services.

Le Thi Huong, who sells meat and chicken at An Nhon Market in Go Vap district, said she must seek to draw her neighbours whom she often pays little attention to. She revealed that she had sold a considerable amount of goods to this group.