SINGAPORE – Selling produce from crates and cardboard boxes strewn across a road, a wholesale night vegetable market in Toa Payoh has served as a cheap source of greens for households and eateries for more than half a century.
But from Aug 19, the market will close owing to the development of housing in the area.
Open six days a week from about 11pm to 5am, the market operates along a 200m stretch of Toa Payoh East leading to an industrial park.
“With the upcoming housing developments in Toa Payoh East, higher traffic use on the road is expected, which would make the place unsuitable for the market operations,” said the Singapore Food Agency (SFA).
Describing the market as an informal distribution site where vendors operate without paying rent, it said its closure will have minimal impact on the local food supply chain due to its “small and limited” scale and operation.
Operators may relocate to other sites such as the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre, market stalls in centres managed by the National Environment Agency, or stalls in single-operator markets, added the agency.
Relocating would provide these operators with sheltered facilities that would ensure greater sustainability for businesses and safety for customers, it said.
Noting that there are currently 10 vendors at the site, SFA said it is working with other government agencies to help them identify suitable sites to allow them to continue their businesses.
Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao reported on Saturday that several agencies – including the SFA, the Housing Board (HDB) and the Land Transport Authority – had informed the vendors last Monday of the impending closure.
Several HDB Build-to-Order projects will be coming up in the area, including Kim Keat Ripples, scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2025.
When The Straits Times visited the site on Saturday night, long queues of customers were spotted.
One vendor, Mr Ong Eng Seng, said he has been selling vegetables since 1968, when the surrounding area was undeveloped.
There had been closure rumours in previous years, added the 77-year-old.
Media reports had said the vendors could not find younger people to take over their trade, and that they faced competition from 24-hour supermarkets.
The market closed for two weeks in September 2021 after several Covid-19 cases were reported there.
Mr Ong said that if he were to move to other sites such as the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre, his business – which occupies most of one side of the road – would not be able to operate on the same scale as there would be less space.
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February 19, 2023 at 02:53PM
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Toa Payoh night vegetable market to close in August as area looks forward to development - The Straits Times
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