Several traditional wet markets which were developed in prime sites in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam have been left deserted for many years.

Meanwhile, unauthorized markets have encroached on sidewalks nearby.

One of the unoccupied wet markets is in Ward 4, Ca Mau City of the namesake province. It has hundreds of kiosks and areas measuring hundreds of square meters for selling fresh goods.

However, traders are not interested in doing business at the market. They have adhered to a nearby old market, which has been dismantled.

Nguyen Thanh Nga, a trader at the new market, said after selling products there, traders found that the design of kiosks is inappropriate.

Each kiosk is only five square meters, which is too small to arrange goods, Nga said.

Traders operating at the new market are subject to space rentals, taxes, and fees, while those in unauthorized markets pay no fee, said To Yen Xuan, another trader.

“I could sell VND2-3 million [US$85-128] worth of goods at the old market per day but only dozens of thousands of Vietnamese dong now,” Xuan said, adding that she will find another place to sell goods. (VND10,000 = $0.42).

Ward 4 has a small population, so the new market has few customers. It is also hard to call on traders to move to the market, Nguyen Thanh Phuong, head of the economy and infrastructure division of Ca Mau City, explained.

Also in Ca Mau, a private company invested over VND15 billion ($639,314) in block A of Tac Van Market, which has some 200 stalls, but only 20 stalls are occupied.

A trader at the market said it has experienced a slump, so local residents call it the 'ghost market.'

Many wet markets have an unfavorable location for residents, said Duong Vu Nam, deputy director of the Ca Mau Department of Industry and Trade.

The loose management paves the way for the mushrooming of unlicensed neighborhood markets.

The province will disperse these illegal markets and those encroaching on sidewalks, Nam said.

In Soc Trang City of the namesake province, many traditional wet markets have also been abandoned or become warehouses.

For example, a wet market on Pham Hung Street in Ward 8, Soc Trang City has not been used for years. It has become a stop for buffaloes and cows.

Similarly, a wet market on Duong Ky Hiep Street in Ward 2 with facilities in disorder has no traders.

On the other hand, traders and buyers gather at a busy neighborhood market in the intersection of Vo Van Kiet and Duong Ky Hiep Streets, which are 500 meters apart. The market is encroaching on the sidewallks.

An Cu Market, nestled in a prime site in Ninh Kieu District, Can Tho City with a large population, has also been gloomy.

Viet Mai Market and Supermarket Investment and Development Co. Ltd. developed 280 stalls and 73 kiosks at the market in late 2013.

However, traders have left 190 of the stalls and kiosks.

The market operator finds it hard to compete with unauthorized markets and online channels, according to Lam Duy Phuc from Viet Mai Market and Supermarket Investment and Development Co. Ltd..

The company will suggest converting part of the market into a warehouse for lease and lease the space in front of the market once the authorities of Ninh Kieu District develop a pedestrian street passing through the venue.

Traders at the Cai Khe trade center in Ninh Kieu District have also gone through a slump.

Lien, a clothing trader at the trade center, said she sometimes sells nothing for five consecutive days.

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