Hundreds of kiosks at Vinh market and Ga market remain closed after the Covid-19 epidemic

Ga Market is one of the largest markets in Vinh City. However, unlike the bustling and bustling atmosphere of the past, these days, hundreds of traders at Ga Market are having to wait for customers...

The walkways at Ga Market, Vinh City are deserted and deserted after the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: Quang An

According to the reporter's records, the number of visitors to Ga Market has decreased sharply, the aisles are empty, and there are no people. While the food stalls around the market still have a certain number of visitors, the stalls selling clothes, shoes, watches, glasses... only have a few people, many small traders gather to chat because there are no customers.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Van, a trader at Ga Market, sadly said: "After the pandemic, we were excited to clean up our shops and reopen our businesses with the hope of making up for the losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, since reopening 2 months ago, business has not improved much. In more than 10 years of doing business here, the market has never been so empty of customers."

Hundreds of kiosks on the second floor of the main hall of Ga Market are closed. Photo: Quang An

Mr. Le Vinh Hung - Head of the Ga Market Management Board said: "Out of the 1,700 kiosks in the market, 500 have been left empty due to sluggish sales. The rest are operating at a low level. Although many small traders have been allowed to return to business after the pandemic, they have remained closed for a month now. Especially on the second floor of the main hall, there are almost no people coming and going, so hundreds of kiosks are also empty."

"During the 30 years that Ga Market has been in operation, it has never been in such a desolate and deserted state as it is now," Mr. Hung emphasized.

The image of "small traders waiting for customers" appears more and more. Photo: Quang An

At Vinh market, the largest market in Vinh city, things are not much better. The situation of "small traders waiting for customers" can be easily seen on the streets in the market area. Especially in area D3 - fabric and the area on the 2nd floor of the main hall. According to the report of Vinh market management board, total revenue in the first 6 months of the year only reached 5.7/14.8 billion VND, only 38% of the plan assigned by the state.

The reason is that many traders are late and ask for "deferment" of taxes and fees due to the gloomy business situation after the Covid-19 pandemic. Even though the second quarter has ended, many traders at Vinh market have not yet completed the service fees from the first quarter.

Damp space and degraded infrastructure at Tay communal house, Vinh market. Photo: Quang An

Not only large markets but also smaller markets located in the city center with a large number of people passing by have suffered from sluggish business after the Covid-19 pandemic. Quan Lau Market in Truong Thi Ward is a typical example. Mr. Duong Xuan Dat - Head of the Quan Lau Market Management Team said: "The whole market has 335 kiosks, but now only 200 - 220 kiosks are operating, the rest have been closed since the Covid-19 pandemic. There are even fashion and cosmetics stalls... with no customers coming all day. The number of small traders closing the market is increasing day by day."

According to market management units, business and trading at markets have not recovered after the Covid-19 pandemic for many reasons. Mainly, people are afraid to go to crowded places even though the epidemic has been controlled. In addition, due to the prolonged hot weather, many people have chosen to use delivery services instead of going to the market directly, and the demand for shopping at the markets has decreased sharply.

To deal with this sluggish situation, the Market Management Board also created conditions to "relax" the deadline for collecting taxes and fees so that small traders can feel secure in doing business.

For small traders, they are also increasing online sales to keep up with technology trends, while calculating and balancing the amount of imported goods to avoid inventory and sluggish sales because the number of customers is no longer as crowded as before./.

Quang An