Bandar Riyal market more lively on Sundays
Sunday is always the best time for us to sell our products here. It is the day when this market will see more visitors.
KOTA SAMARAHAN: Every Sunday, the Bandar Riyal market would see more traders, especially from the Dayak community, selling their products there.
Unlike most markets around the state which are normally busy early in the morning, Bandar Riyal, which is a community market, will only get busy around 10am until late evening.
Many would come to the market to buy all sorts of items from fresh marine fish to jungle vegetables and fruits, the names of which might not sound familiar.
Usually they hunt for vegetables and fruits only found at the countryside and the rural interiors.
On Sundays, the market gets livelier, with many traders from other areas from as far as Lubok Antu selling their products there.
“Sunday is always the best time for us to sell our products here. It is the day when this market will see more visitors,” said Canady Goh, one of the food vendors at the market.
Canady Goh, food vendor
Although community markets like Bandar Riyal offer a wide variety of choices, supermarkets are also gaining significance as the younger generation seem to prefer them.
A few of the market’s customers (most of them aged below 40 years) when interviewed yesterday said they did not mind going to the supermarket even if the prices of items sold there are higher.
This is because supermarkets have facilities which help customers shop with ease.
“I do realise that the goods sold at the market might be cheaper than the ones sold at the supermarkets but I prefer to shop for items comfortably at supermarkets because of the facilities available there. I will however go to markets such as the Bandar Riyal market if there are items which I really need or when I am in the mood to explore and discover things which I rarely see,” said Deborah Simba who lives at Bukit Berangan, not far from the market.
As for Isaac Joe Mokos, he prefers supermarkets because they have everything under one roof.
“Apart from buying raw food items, I shop for other groceries at the supermarket which is very convenient for me. If I go to markets like Bandar Riyal I might not find all the things I need as I do not like going shopping at more than one place, neither do I have much time for shopping,” he commented.
Many traders interviewed at Bandar Riyal said most of their customers are aged 45 years and above.