Business at wet markets down due to suspected rent hike

Five wet markets began their new lease with supermarket giant Sheng Siong on Friday.

But some tenants have left, suspecting rental costs would increase after three months. Moreover, stallholders at some markets reported a 20 per cent decrease in customer traffic.

At the Fajar Market in Bukit Panjang, five out of 22 stalls have closed down. Among them were those that sold fruits, dried goods and meat.

Other stallholders said that customers stopped going to the markets as they now consider them “incomplete”.

Bek Seng Seow, a seafood seller at Fajar Market, said: “Look, there is such a small crowd now. It is already hard as it is, maintaining the stall. If there are so few customers and prices keep rising, how can we survive?”

Tang Sio Hong, a vegetable seller at Yew Tee Market, said: “The lease price will definitely increase. But each year the price will be different. We don’t know how much of an increase, but they will tell us by end-February.”

Source: Channel News Asia, 1 Jan 2010