Suva market vendor Vani Nabalewa at the Suva municipal market on April 16, 2018. Photo: Taraivini Seru
Naimasimasi grandmother cum market vendor, Vani Nabalewa is feeling the brunt of the many roadside markets along the main highways.
Ms Nabalewa, 62, who travels from Naimasimasi says selling at the Suva market is getting difficult every day and the recent bad weather is not making thing better.
Ms Nabalewa has been in this business the last eight years, so she knows how the numerous roadside markets have affected her sales.
“Before people flock to the Suva market to buy their vegetables, root crops and everything else you can get from the market,” Ms Nabalewa said.
“Now with a lot of roadside markets people are buying from those close to them, they need not come to Suva to buy,” she said.
“Then what can we do when everybody needs to make a living to survive and Government is encouraging everybody to be part of economic growth.”
She travels to Suva daily to sell her produce from Mondays to Saturdays to make ends meet.
Her produce includes cabbage, dalo, chillies, sweet potatoes, lemon, eggplants and cassava, most of which she said she bought from middlemen.
Her business has its ups and downs and the past months have not been easy for her.
“If I were to compare selling back then and now it’s really different. Back then we had a lot of customers and used to earn good money but now we don’t,” she said.
“I think we have a lot of market vendors today that’s why we don’t have a lot of customers and make more money like we used to do before.”
Despite the challenges Ms Nabalewa has no intention of giving up.
On a good week she said she could earn between $400 to $600 a week. On a not so good week she could only earn $100-$200.
She loves selling in the market because she gets to meet new people every day.
“The goods that I sell are mostly from farmers but sometimes close relatives and friends also help me out,” she said.
“I prefer selling at the market because I earn money every day and as the school holidays is approaching, I am making a lot of money.
“My busy days are from Thursday to Saturday and when it is Government pay week.”
She plans to expand to explore to another small business soon and has set her mind on poultry farming.
“I plan to begin a poultry business, I hope to expand into selling kava too,” she said.
