Interview by Yuki Lei
In recent years, the government has been revitalising the city’s wet markets one after another, but fierce competition from supermarkets, coupled with changes in consumer habits, has impacted municipal markets – and a stallholder who has been selling pork at the Horta da Mitra Municipal Market for over 40 years told the Post last week that competition from supermarkets has led to a drop in foot traffic in the traditional wet market, which in turn has affected her business, while in a recent interview with the Post, Macau Market Vendors Union (UPD) Director O Cheng Wong urged the government to consolidate vacant market stalls for existing stallholders to increase their operational space, thereby promoting the sustainable development of the city’s traditional markets.
Macau currently has eight municipal wet markets, with the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) having redeveloped several of them, including those in the Rua dos Mercadores (營地大街), Iao Hon (祐漢), and Praia do Manduco (下環) areas. Recent refurbishments also included the Red Market and Horta da Mitra Municipal Market. Most renovated wet markets now also serve as government service centres, incorporating cooked food centres and activity venues. The Coloane Market was closed for good at the end of last year.
Last Thursday afternoon, the Post visited the Horta da Mitra Municipal Market to observe the foot traffic there - the flow of people was “sparse”. During the visit, one of the stallholders, surnamed Lou, told the Post that many local vendors were struggling with a decline in customers. She said: “Business is just so-so. In the past, my regular customers would come here on purpose, but not anymore. Most of them now choose supermarkets closer to home.”
Lou pointed out that the increase in supermarkets has indeed had a significant impact on traditional wet markets, saying that both pork stalls and vegetable stalls are facing varying degrees of difficulties, and many have chosen to close for good due to the loss of regular customers, adding that markets in other districts are similarly affected. Using her own business situation as an example, she said that selling meat has become more challenging than in the past, often requiring more than 10 hours a day to complete sales, revealing her financial pressure: “Honestly, I can say that I’m truly losing money”.
Speaking to the Post, Lou criticised the current management of the market, saying that the bureau is inconsistent in its oversight of fresh food shops outside the market: “The management of the market is very strict, but there is almost no oversight of the shops outside”.
The government’s “Public Market Management Regime” took effect in 2022, at which point the bureau arranged for inspectors to conduct inspections two to three times a day to check whether market stallholders were operating in person and continuously. Within this context, Lou argued that the rules “are unreasonable”, noting that while the market management stipulated their business hours, it was practically impossible to adhere to them: “For instance, even if I left home at 5 a.m. to prepare, the time spent before officially opening my stall was not taken into account. As a result, despite my working hours exceeding the stipulated time, it was still considered to have committed a violation of the regulations”.
Only aquatic food stalls able to maintain competitiveness: O
In an interview with the Post in his office last week, O said that in recent years, traditional wet markets have been less competitive than supermarkets, and with the changes in consumers’ shopping patterns, young people rarely visit wet markets and typically opt for take-away food. As a result, only certain areas, such as aquatic product stalls and cooked food centres, are still able to attract a steady flow of customers to the wet markets.
Citing the Red Market as an example, O pointed out that in the two years since the commencement of its renovation project, more than 30 of its original vendors have closed down their business, making their stalls vacant.
According to O, the vacancies in the wet markets can largely be attributed to the fact that many supermarkets and other shops nowadays can more easily apply to sell fresh food, which has increased competition and diminished the wet markets’ appeal. Additionally, the relatively small operating areas of the traditional markets have weakened their competitive advantage, leading to, for instance, more than 30 vacant stalls in the Red Market. He said that the government’s failure to relocate, consolidate or re-tender the vacant stalls in a timely manner has further aggravated the vacancy predicament in some of the wet markets.
Pointing out that the eight municipal markets in Macau are now focused on selling aquatic products to maintain their competitiveness, O explained that the bureau imposes relatively stringent requirements regarding hygiene and environmental standards for the sale of aquatic products in shops outside the traditional wet markets during the licensing process.
O also remarked that Macau’s wet markets are generally small and lack variety, putting operators in a challenging position: “Even when markets have been renovated, the improvements to their environment remain limited and do not reflect the diversity found in more mature cities. As a result, customers tend to prefer other wet markets or supermarkets”. He suggested that consolidating and enlarging existing wet market stalls would allow vendors to expand their business areas and increase their supply of goods, ultimately benefiting the stalls more significantly.
O also urged the government to retender the vacant stalls and, at the same time, respond to public demand by adding roasted food or light food options: “If feasible, setting up a cooked food centre would be the ideal choice”. Additionally, O said he hoped the government would introduce cultural and creative stalls, considering the environment and the presence of tourists, and organise more activities during traditional Chinese festivals to increase footfall.
‘Vacancy rates generally remain stable’: IAM
The Post emailed the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) on Wednesday regarding the vacant stall predicament in the wet markets, and the bureau responded on Friday that the vacancy rates have “generally remained stable” over the past year. It did not disclose specific figures.
In the written reply, the bureau pointed out its commitment to continuously reviewing the environment, stall sizes, and facilities of Macau’s wet markets, while, based on the operational conditions of each wet market and the characteristics of their surrounding areas, adjusting the spatial layout and business types, optimising the operating conditions of the stalls, and introducing new stalls in a timely manner that meet consumers’ market demand, thereby revitalising the markets.
This photo taken on Thursday shows customers at a vegetable stall in the recently revamped Horta da Mitra Municipal Market.
Macau Market Vendors Union (UPD) Director O Cheng Wong poses after last week’s interview with the Post at his association in Ou Chong Commercial Building on Rua dos Mercadores. – Photos: Yuki Lei
