Chinanews.com, December 6th. According to Singapore’s Lianhe Zaobao, the Chinatown New Year goods market in 2022 will be closed again. This is the first time that the New Year’s goods market will be suspended in 2020 and will be closed again due to the impact of the new crown epidemic.
Some vendors still choose to rent out their stores to facilitate regular customers to continue to buy new year goods, and some vendors believe that the lack of the New Year goods market will impact their business.
Ye Weiqiang (58), who has been selling lavender in Chinatown’s New Year’s Market for more than 35 years, heard that the New Year’s Market in 2022 might be held online, but he admitted in an interview that he had never considered selling lavender on an online platform.
He has also continued the practice of 2021, spending more than 10,000 yuan (Singapore dollars) to apply for renting a store and outside space on Terengganu Street close to his original New Year's market stall.
He said: "I am not very familiar with technology, nor do I understand how online platforms operate. Most of our customers are older customers over 60 years old. They prefer the feeling of touching things."
Ye Weiqiang will start selling Lap Mei at the end of December, and he is also optimistic about the buying spirit for the New Year in 2022.
"I think business should be better than in previous years, because most people have been vaccinated against the new crown, and the public will feel more at ease when they come to buy goods for the New Year."
Zhang Dachuan (50 years old), who sells peanuts and melon seeds, rents a stall on Pagoda Street and has already sold Chinese New Year goods in advance.
He mentioned that since there will be no new year's goods market, the new year's purchase volume will be the same as this year.
He believes that as the epidemic in Singapore is brought under control and the maximum number of social gatherings increases to five people, there should be more public outings, which will further promote the purchase of Chinese New Year goods.
Su Caijun (56), who has been selling souvenirs in Chinatown Market for about 20 years, believes that the suspension of the New Year’s Fair may further reduce the number of people, and it will also have a great impact on his business.
Su Caijun sells different products for the Lunar New Year, such as pendants and ornaments of the Chinese zodiac.
He said: "The business hasn't improved much this year. Because there is no new year's goods market this year, our customers have also decreased a lot. I estimate that the sales volume of the new year's goods next year should be reduced by 20% to 30% compared with this year. It was 70% less in previous years, and I will not dare to book too much next year.” (Liu Yuling)