The market opens at 5 am and is often the busiest between 6-8 am. Most tourists choose to visit the market when visiting Can Tho. However, the market has seen a sharp decline in traders.

Tourists on Cai Rang Floating Market

Vu Quang Hung, a tourist from the southern province of Dong Nai, said that his family visited Cai Rang Floating Market in May. He was quite surprised to see it largely deserted. In 2018 and 2019 the market thrived with hundreds of boats selling products.

Pham Thi Ngoc, who has served breakfasts by boat on the market for 25 years, said most of her customers were traders, but over the recent years, travellers have dominated.

The fast development of the roads has made it more convenient than boats to transport farm produce. Nowadays, people have also tended to buy goods at markets or online.

The city has also built a high embankment along the Cai Rang River, making it more inconvenient for goods transported from shore to boats.

In May, Can Tho held a seminar to seek ways on how to preserve the market. At the event, Tran Viet Thuong, chairman of Can Tho People’s Committee warned that if nothing was done to improve the situation, the market would fail to attract tourists.

All of the local markets have their own management boards, but Cai Rang Floating Market does not and pollution and bad habits of the traders may have contributed to the problems.

The city has decided to set up a management board to preserve and promote the market, a national intangible cultural heritage site. It is also in charge of asking designated agencies to impose fines on people who violate the market’s regulations.

The city is also building a market preservation and development plan for the 2023-2025 period with a vision until 2030.

Source: Dtinews