Vietnamese floating markets face an uncertain future as life is moving to the coast | Business and economy

Can Vietnam – – While dawn breaks through the Can, the city river is filled with tour engines.

Traditional wooden boats appear in the distance through the dim light as the CAI floating market is observed.

Cai Rang, and other markets like her, were once among the most recognizable cultural icons of southern Vietnam, with a history dating from the beginning of the 20th century.

Prior to the development of roads and bridges, countless delta waterways were the main means of trade and transportation, which led to the development of floating markets on which the channels converged.

But in the last two decades, the markets have decreased in tandem with the rapid economic development of Vietnam – first gradually, and then suddenly – and only two of the 10 major markets of the region retain any significant presence.

“When I first visited [Cai Rang] The market in 2011, it was much bigger, “said Linh, a local guide for Al Jazeera.

“It’s about a third of that size now,” said Linh, who came to the market daily until a few years ago.

Today, the CAI rank consists of about 200 vessels, less than half as much as during its top in the 1990s.

The Phong Dien Market has decreased to less than a dozen boats and has mostly disappeared from tourist itinerators.

Cai Be, once the final market in the neighboring province of Ben Tre, among those who have completely disappeared, closing forever in 2021.

Historically the largest of the markets of the market, CAI has been rang, and is still resembling a decent set of boats-bar from afar.

After a more close examination, the market looks less frequently. Nowadays, bypasses make up a significant part of water traffic.

However, the market works as much as always, because the Sampani is loaded with products of larger “wholesalers”, which then returns to markets on land.

For many sellers, ships are doubled as homes.

Everyday life is on a full screen while the residents of the ship Peru utensils with water from Rijeka, cook meals over small stoves or relax in hanging nets – often with children and pet dogs.

Still behind the photogenic charm, the anxiety lingers.

“The job is not good,” said Phuc, who works on the market selling pineapple tourists, said Al Jazeera.

Sometimes only 10 pineapple sells daily on 20,000 Vietnamese Dong ($ 0.78).

“Only in the high season is it possible to make enough money. We barely survive the rest of the time. “

Until two years ago, Phuc and her husband worked as wholesale who sold Yams.

Each week for the previous 25 years, they would travel to a long province, near Ho Chi Minh, to renovate their ship – a process that lasted a few days there and back.

However, as road infrastructure improved in the last decade, the land store has become faster and more cost effective, replacing the need for trade in Rijeka.

“The only people who continue to work here are those who can’t afford to buy a van or big car [to deliver produce]”, Said her husband, Thanh Al Jazeera.

Tuyen, who works as a wholesaler who sells onions, garlic and sweet potatoes, is also reduced.

“Ten years ago, I made good money by doing this, but now it’s enough to break up,” she told Al Jazeera, while fishing fish soup was preparing breakfast on her ship. “It’s getting harder now.”

Tuyen said that the Pandemia of the Coid-19 turns, after which many sellers, who could not end the end, converted to work on the land.

When asked why she did not join them, she pointed to the market rental fees – about five million Vietnamese Dong ($ 195).

On board she has no rent to pay.

“I’d rather stay on land – it’s more comfortable and more appropriate – but I have no money,” she said.

Although improved roads are often cited as the reason for the market fall, other factors played a role.

Many smaller markets have struggled to recover from temporary shutter during the pandemic, as regulations on health and security have encouraged the transition to the land markets.

Poor planning further worsened the situation.

In order to get rid of the annual flood of Delte Mekong, the authorities have built walls in recent years to prevent floods along the banks of the Can Tho River, one of its many waterways.

Although these walls helped reduce floods and erosion, the absence of Piers made it difficult for the continuation of the store based in Rijeka.

Wider cultural shifts also throw a cloud on the future of a floating market.

While Vietnam is modernizing, younger generations turn their backs at their parents’ trade, seeking better education and career opportunities.

“My daughter doesn’t want to work here,” Phuc said. “He preferred to work on his own conditions for the company and invest in shares. Not like us – she doesn’t like this life. “

Although suppliers can take care of the future, Cai Rang’s survival seems to be a small consequence of the average resident of the nearby Can Tho city.

These days, most people buy in supermarkets and shopping malls and have few reasons to visit CAI rank.

“This is nothing special to me,” said the hotel receptionist, who visited the market only once, said Al Jazeera, seeking not to be appointed.

However, tourism contributes to about 6 percent to the city economy, and the CAI rank floated the main draw.

In 2017, the city welcomed 7.5 million tourists, according to official data.

While the arrivals reached 5.9 million 2023 after they fell on virtually nothing during the pandemic, the numbers remain significantly below their peak.

Much of this is due to the effects of pandemic and the reduced number of flights from other parts of Vietnam, according to the son of Ca Huynhu, who runs a tourist company in the Can Tho.

If the floating market should be closed, the efforts to revive tourism are likely to become harder.

Huynh, which breaks down into cooking classes and trips on channels without a rush, said that the efforts of the market preservation could focus on their appeal to tourists, citing the floating Bangkok markets as an example, not its commercial function.

“There are many different things in Bangkok’s markets,” Huynh told Al Jazeera. “We sell mostly fruits and vegetables here.”

But to do so, she said, the government will need to do more to encourage the merchants to stay, including the construction of new pillars for full of goods and helping in collecting earnings – which she believes is unlikely given the costs that are involved.

In any case, Huynh said, the market would lose its authenticity and its cultural value.

“It wouldn’t be the same in my mind,” she said.

By 8:00, the daily store ended up in Cai Rang.

The sun penetrated high above the coastal river banks, and the sellers relax on their home ships. But Linh, a guide, suspects that the tranquility will last and expect the CAI rank to close within a few years.

“Then I’ll have to look for a new job,” she said.