Bustling rural market

The market is bustling at noon.

Bustling activity

During our journey to explore the Vam Nao River, we accidentally encountered the bustling trading atmosphere of small traders at the river's head. The market is located in an empty lot of Thuan Giang ferry terminal, without a signboard. However, for a long time, this address has attracted a large number of people to exchange agricultural products, which is commonly called the market. The market usually meets in the morning or afternoon. However, the market meets at noon and only lasts a few hours. Every day, about 100 workers here have a stable income from loading and unloading goods onto trucks.

Seeing the bustling scene, we tried to drive deeper inside and met Mr. Nguyen Van Truong (57 years old, owner of a farm yard) supervising workers loading agricultural products onto trucks. Mr. Truong said that this farm yard gathering point has more than 10 farm yard owners, attracting hundreds of traders from all over to come here to buy goods to resell to rural commune markets. Looking around, the traders' motorbikes come here to replenish their goods continuously. The market is held from 10 am to 1 pm. During this time, traders take advantage of buying farm goods to sell at the afternoon market.

We met Mr. Tran Van Son (from Phu Thanh commune, Phu Tan district) struggling to choose bags of bitter melon to load onto his motorbike. Every day, around 11 o'clock, he comes to this place to buy vegetables and tubers to sell at Phu Thanh market. His motorbike, although old, is a useful means of making a living. Mr. Son said that this motorbike can carry 2 baskets of all kinds of goods, such as: cucumbers, cabbage, radishes, coriander, spring onions, bitter melon, green beans... Sometimes Mr. Son also buys onions, carrots, bell peppers... to sell along the way. "On long trips, I bring a small scale with me. When I drive slowly through the countryside, people call me to buy things to prepare for dinner" - Mr. Son confided. In rural areas far from the market, many families choose to buy goods from carts or motorbikes. Thanks to that, Mr. Son has a stable income.

Maintain for decades

According to Mr. Truong, this place was formed over 30 years ago. Initially, only a few households purchased agricultural products from people in the island area. Later, many people followed the profession of selling farm produce, operating bustlingly in the rural areas of Kien An commune until now. Thanks to this gathering point, farmers' agricultural products have a sustainable place to consume, and people do not have to laboriously transport them far away. Currently, Mr. Truong is one of the big warehouse owners at the vegetable gathering point. Every day, Mr. Truong's warehouse consumes about 10 tons of various vegetables grown by farmers in the Cho Moi island area and neighboring communes of Dong Thap province.

Mr. Truong recalls that in the past, this gathering point was located a few hundred meters away. Later, the Thuan Giang ferry wharf lent the place to the traders, so they moved here to operate. This place is very convenient for the circulation of goods by road and water. However, nowadays, many traders transport vegetables mainly by road, which is both fast and convenient. The goods reach consumers fresh and delicious. After collecting vegetables from farmers on the island, every noon, Mr. Truong commands his hired workers to load the goods onto his truck and transport them to Vinh Long province to be weighed for the broker.

Up to now, Mr. Truong has been in the agricultural product trading business for decades. In the past, he farmed but only had enough to eat. Later, seeing people switch to growing vegetables, Mr. Truong rented out his fields, went to buy agricultural products to distribute to markets and wholesalers. Business became more and more prosperous, he invested in buying a truck to transport agricultural products for consumption outside the province. Thanks to that, vegetables sold for a higher price. Pointing to his farm produce warehouse, Mr. Truong said that every day, he buys all kinds of things, such as: onions, chives, sweet potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, okra, chili, cucumbers, pickles, pickled onions, etc. In addition to buying goods in the district, he also imports root vegetables from Da Lat, such as: carrots, cauliflower, tomatoes, bell peppers, etc.

Every afternoon, this gathering point consumes dozens of tons of agricultural products distributed everywhere. However, according to Mr. Truong, over the past 2 years, agricultural product prices have been unstable, and farmers often face difficulties in finding a market. Mr. Truong said that currently, farmers harvest onions and sell them at the field for 10,000 VND/kg, while the investment costs are higher, so this crop is not profitable. Or like radishes, a few months ago the market was flooded with only 500 VND/kg but no one bought them. Currently, radishes are priced at 7,000 VND/kg, and at this price, farmers still do not make a profit, after deducting expenses.

The traders at this market are very conscientious in their business. They always hope that the vegetable market will have good prices and that farmers will have high incomes to reinvest. When farmers are happy, the traders are also happy and motivated to continue purchasing agricultural products from farmers to sell everywhere.

LUU MY

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/soi-dong-cho-hang-ray-nong-thon-a422028.html