By Chatmongkon Luanginta and Chayanit Kosutho
Mae Sai | For almost a hundred years Nai Boon Yuen Market has survived and prospered, but the effects of recent flooding have seen its revenue decline sharply, according to market traders.
The sprawling market in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai, situated at the border of Thailand and Myanmar, has been a focal point for life in the area, providing income for both Thais and Burmese, and fresh produce for residents, since first opening in 1931.
One woman trader from Chiang Tung, Myanmar, who has been selling produce at Nai Boon Yuen Market for almost 10 years said fewer people had been able to get to the market.
“The water did not reach here but still no one wants to come to the market,” she said, adding she comes to the market at 4am every morning to open her stand but other vendors were getting there even earlier.
The woman said the stall was her only source of income.
Nai Boon Yuen, offering fresh goods including vegetables, meat and local foods that mix Thai and Burmese culture, has never closed.
Dried goods for sale in the market. Photo by Chayanit Kosutho.
Because it was on high ground it was not damaged in the recent floods in Mae Sai, but two months on, the market’s economy has not returned to normal.
Heavy rain first caused damage in September in the province, but in October the banks of the Mae Nam Ruak River, which divides Thailand and Myanmar, broke causing extensive flooding of Chiang Rai for nine days. The floods killed 16 people, destroyed homes and properties and shut down businesses. Some 740,000 people were affected.
Residents of Mae Sai were evacuated from the worst hit areas on October 3, and some are yet to return, as the clean-up continues.
A woman selling vegetables in the sprawling Nai Boon Yuen market. Photo by Chatmongkon Luanginta.
Market stall owners pay 45 Thai baht per day to rent a 3 sqm area, and need to provide their own tables. Many just put their produce out on a mat or banana leaves on the floor, selling from 5am until 5pm.
Motorcycles are a common sight in the market, riding through the aisles. Photo by Chayanit Kosutho.
Although business has declined, traders have no choice but to persevere with less takings.
On the other side of Nai Boon Yuen, a trader who has been selling two local dishes, the Thai food kha nom jeen and the Burmese khao raem fuen, for 10 years, said there were clearly fewer people coming to the market.
A butcher in the market. Photo by Chayanit Kosutho.
Like the previous trader, she kept her stand open during the flooding, since the market did not close.
“It is getting better after the flood, but I have to say that there were a lot more people before,” she said.
“Luckily, the rental is only a thousand baht a month. Even though there is no rental reduction policy, it’s understandable because the flood did not damage this place directly.
“It is getting better, but I know it can be much better than what it is right now.”
Pa Yok, 69, a Shan market trader has worked in Nai Boon Yuen for 40 years. Photo: Martin Newman.
Pa Yok, 69, a Shan market trader has been selling wares in the market for 40 years, many of which she makes herself.
“I just work and go home and sleep,” laughed the mum-of-four and grandmother of eight. “Family makes me happy. I have everything I want.
“I don’t drink, I don’t smoke. Just eat. I’m healthy and have never needed to go to hospital.”
A market trader selling peppers and other foods. Photo by Chayanit Kosutho.
In 40 years, Chiang Rai has not seen a flood this severe, and it continues to affect many aspects of life in the region.
On Sunday, Thailand’s prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra announced a range of measures for small businesses struggling with the economic impact caused by the flooding.
The market has operated for 93 years. Photo by Chatmongkon Luanginta.
“The flood makes many households go through hard times,” she said. “What is important is its effects on the country’s economy.
“We are responsible to help everyone because the population is the most important factor to make a country move forward.”
Main image of woman selling banana leaves by Chatmongkon Luanginta.
UTS journalism students travelled to Thailand as part of The Foreign Correspondent Study Tour, a University of Technology Sydney programme supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s New Colombo Plan, and working with Chiang Mai University strategic communications students in association with Chiang Mai University.
