Vietnam Street Vendors Cycle Door to Door for Deliveries
This combination photograph shows vendors carrying various goods for sale on their bicycles in Hanoi on March 18, 2021
From juicy mangoes and fresh lemons to tropical guava and plums: Hanoi’s fruit comes piled high on the back of bicycles, peddled by street vendors who roam every nook and cranny of the Vietnamese capital.
The fruit sellers, who are mostly women, start their day at 3 am and cycle up to 15 kilometers into the city from the countryside to drop off fruit, vegetables and flowers at their customers’ doors.
Donning conical hats known as “Non La” to shield from the sun, the women can earn up to $8 a day as they weave through Hanoi’s alleys until late afternoon.
The exhausting work is worth it for many, with wages in Vietnam’s cities at least double those of the countryside in a nation where the World Bank says the average annual income is around $2,600.
The fruit sellers, who are mostly women, start their day at 3 am and cycle up to 15 kilometers into Hanoi from the countryside to drop off fruit, vegetables, and flowers
But fruit vendors have been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, despite Vietnam’s low case numbers.
It has recorded just over 2,500 cases and only 35 deaths.
Hanoi’s fruit vendors have been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, despite Vietnam’s low case numbers
There have been fewer people on the streets and vendors were not allowed to peddle their wares for a short period after the virus first hit.
Vendors were not allowed to peddle their wares for a short period after the virus first hit Vietnam
Last April, the government announced a $2.6 billion support package to help around 20 million poor people and small businesses affected by the pandemic.
But many found themselves unable to access the funds.
PICTURES BY MANAN VATSYAYANA/afp