Ubi night vegetable market to end operations in August

A vegetable night market operating out of an open-air carpark in Ubi will call it a day in August, joining the fate of a similar market in Toa Payoh which will also shutter that month.

JTC Corporation – which oversees the Kampong Ubi Industrial Estate, where the market is based – said the site’s three vendors are operating under a temporary occupation licence, which is due to expire at the end of March.

“JTC is facilitating an extension of the (temporary occupation licence) from March 31, 2023, to Aug 31, 2023, to allow the vendors more time for relocation,” said a JTC spokesman, describing the market as a “distribution site”.

The industrial developer said it is working with the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) to identify “suitable relocation sites with shelter and proper facilities” where the vendors can continue their businesses.

These sites include the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre, market stalls in centres managed by the National Environment Agency or stalls in single-operator markets, it added.

JTC did not say why the vendors’ licences are not being renewed.

The market, which is open from around 11pm to 7am, has been operating at the location since around 2010.

Last month, SFA said a wholesale vegetable night market, which had been operating along Toa Payoh East for more than five decades, would shutter on Aug 19, due to higher expected road traffic amid upcoming housing developments in the area.

When The Straits Times visited the site at Ubi Avenue 3 on Thursday night, sellers said they have no idea why their licences are not being renewed.

The open-air market there differs from the one in Toa Payoh East in that vendors are licensed and pay rent for the use of the site.

One seller, Mr Derrick Tan, told ST he pays about $3,000 monthly to set up shop there, which includes paying JTC for the rental of the carpark spaces as well as contractors for cleaning services and the use of a small portable toilet.

The 48-year-old, who took over the business from his uncle about eight years ago, said the market sees fewer customers now. When it started, there were more than 15 vendors hawking their produce at the site.

Most have either retired or quit, he said.

Though walk-in customers were previously more common, sellers now largely use the site for packing and distribution. “You wait for half an hour, you won’t see any customers here,” Mr Tan said.

A news report in 2013 showed that vendors occupied more than 30 parking spaces at the Ubi carpark at the time.

Mr Tan said his customers – who are mostly hawkers and restaurateurs – pay less for produce at the open-air market. For example, 1kg of chye sim is priced at 80 cents, while a 10kg bag of potatoes costs just $8 – a fraction of what people would pay at regular markets.

Mr Tan said he is now bidding for a unit at a nearby building. He said the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre would be inconvenient for his customers – most of whom are located in the east – while a typical market stall would be too small.

Another vendor, Mr Richard Poh, said he has been selling vegetables in various locations for 30 years and began operating at the Ubi site about four years ago.

The 53-year-old said he is considering switching to a delivery model of business, without operating a physical stall.

One of Mr Poh’s customers, 64-year-old Zheng Qiurong, said she turns up every other day at the open-air carpark to buy vegetables because of the convenient location and competitive prices.

Ms Zheng, who runs a ban mian stall at the Old Airport Road Food Centre with her husband, said she will continue buying from Mr Poh via delivery once the Ubi site closes.