Unique market that only opens for one hour at night

(NLDO) - The night areca market in Quang Thanh commune, Thuy Nguyen district (Hai Phong city) is quite special when "sellers and buyers" use flashlights to transact with each other at night.

According to the people of Quang Thanh commune, Thuy Nguyen district (Hai Phong city), the areca market here is considered the largest wholesale market specializing in purchasing and trading areca nuts in the North. This is a unique market that only opens for exactly 1 hour (from 8pm to 9pm every day).

Traders are looking for the most beautiful areca clusters

The market only sells one product: areca bunches picked from gardens in Thuy Nguyen district. However, the areca market attracts many traders from Thai Nguyen, Bac Ninh, Quang Ninh, Hai Duong, Hung Yen provinces and Hanoi. The market is open 30 days a month, from mid-September this year to May next year, right when the areca is in harvest season.

Previously, the market was also known as Morning Market, located on both sides of Highway 352. Vendors displayed their goods right on the road, causing traffic insecurity because the road above had no electric lights and high traffic density.

After that, traders moved the market to a new area in Dong Lua, Quang Thanh commune since 2009. In fact, during the day, this place is still a people's market, and only in the late afternoon does it change to an areca market.

To prepare for this market, other areca nut traders in Thuy Nguyen district usually arrive at the market early, those who arrive first will display their areca nuts first, neatly arranging the booths on the ground, those who arrive later will display their goods later. At around 7:30 pm, the areca nut traders have finished displaying their goods, they sit and wait for the market management to turn on the lights to make transactions.

Around 8pm, when the market management turns on the lights, buying and selling activities begin to become lively. However, under the dim light, the "transactions" of buying and selling areca nuts are all carried out under the flashlights that everyone brings themselves.

The buying and selling takes place in exactly 1 hour, whether there are still goods or not, the market is crowded or empty, the market management board will turn off the lights at exactly 9 pm. At this time, without anyone telling anyone, the sellers will quietly pack up their goods, the buyers will quietly leave the market.

Mr. Nguyen Van Minh, a trader in Hanoi who has been associated with the Quang Thanh areca market for many years, shared that in the whole North, only the areca market here is the most abundant. To choose a beautiful bunch of areca, buyers need to choose bunches with full "beard and hair" cabinets, large, round fruits, flexible branches, and evenly distributed fruits. If the bunch of areca lacks one of the above criteria, it cannot be sold to the buyer for the ceremony.

The areca market is quite special when "sellers and buyers" use flashlights to transact with each other at night.

Explaining the practice of turning off the lights before each market hour, Mr. Nguyen Van Duc, Head of the Cau Market Management Board, Quang Thanh Commune, Thuy Nguyen District, said, "This custom has existed since ancient times, to avoid people coming here competing to buy, and also to create fairness, so that people who come first as well as those who come later can all choose their favorite bunches of areca nuts."

For that reason, since its opening, this wholesale market has not had any disputes, quarrels or disturbances. The surcharge includes seats and parking fees of 20,000 VND, and there are no other fees.

This year's areca crop, the price of fresh areca nuts increased to a record high when at the end of April it was about 25,000 VND/kg, by June it had increased to 50,000 - 55,000 VND and is currently at 80,000 VND/kg.

"At the beginning of the year, the price of fresh areca nuts also increased but only fluctuated at 45,000 - 50,000 VND/kg. After storm No. 3, the price of fresh areca nuts gradually increased to 60,000 - 70,000 VND/kg and peaked at 80,000 VND/kg including branches and stems. The current price of fresh areca nuts is a record high in the past 10 years" - Ms. Thu (an areca nut seller) said.

Ms. Khanh (a trader in Hung Yen) said that due to many factors such as storm No. 3 and China increasing its purchasing volume, the price of areca nuts is expensive this year. But expensive input also means expensive output, both growers and traders have money coming in and out.

Mr. Long in Hung Yen province, who has more than 20 years of experience in the profession, confided, "To pursue this profession depends on fate, not everyone can do it just because they want to. Before, I went to Thuy Nguyen, spent hundreds of millions to buy a whole areca garden, but due to many reasons and lack of experience, I suffered many losses. When I learned about the areca market, I switched to buying areca at the market to be safe."

Around 8pm is when trading activities begin to become lively.

According to Mr. Long, there are two forms of buying areca nuts: Buying the whole garden and buying retail at the market. Buying retail like this is called "3 mo", meaning 3 dependent and fragile things: Not much capital, not much working day, areca nut price fluctuates depending on the buyer. Buying at the garden when the harvest is big, you can also make a profit of several hundred million, even billion VND/crop, but sometimes you can also lose money. Buying retail, the loss rate is very low, and the profit is only about a million VND/day, sometimes only a few hundred thousand VND.

Mr. Thai, a trader from Thai Nguyen province, said that every day he leaves Thai Nguyen at 3 pm, and when he finishes buying areca nuts, he returns home at 1 am. The next morning, he goes to each point to sell them, regularly for 30 days a month, regardless of rain or shine. "Now the roads are more convenient, making travel easier. Although provinces like Phu Tho and Vinh Phuc also grow a lot of areca nuts, Thuy Nguyen areca nuts are preferred by buyers, who are willing to pay a higher price," said Mr. Thai.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/doc-dao-phien-cho-chi-hop-mot-tieng-trong-dem-196250130134855203.htm