Street food sellers worried about loss of livelihood

An unregistered food stall on Hoang Hoa Tham Street in Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Thanh District.

Sixty-year-old Vo Thi Loi says she would be totally lost if she had to stop selling vegetables and fruit on the sidewalk. Loi of Hoc Mon District crosses the city every day to set up her makeshift shop on the side of Bui Huu Nghia Street in Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Thanh District.

 

“I have been living on this job for more than 10 years, earning between VND20,000-30,000 (US$1.10-1.70) a day,” Loi says, adding she is fearful that the municipal administration’s ban on the informal selling of fresh food would rob her of her sole means of livelihood.

 

She is too poor to open a convenience store as required by the regulations, Loi says. Loi’s is not an uncommon case. A huge number of unregistered small traders in HCMC are worried about the ban that took effect.
 

 

Under the new regulations, sales of fresh food, including fruit and vegetables, meat, poultry and seafood, are prohibited outside authorized markets, supermarkets and convenience stores.

 

Toi, another small vegetables trader at the corner of Bui Huu Nghia and Bach Dang streets, says her family relies on the sidewalk stall and the ban would significantly affect their lives.
The planning of a food supply system by district authorities was non-existent and the move has not persuaded residents, he said.

 

According to the city’s Department of Industry and Trade, unregistered small traders cater to around 15 percent of food demand in the city.