Narang Plonguan, assistant vice president of Yodpiman told The Nation that after Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) asked it to prepare space, 200 stalls – out of 1,073 stalls prepared at Yodpiman – had been booked by flower vendors since last December.

The prepared zone would be divided into three sections: indoor stalls, outdoor stalls, and riverside stalls, beside Yodpiman’s old area full of wholesale and retail shops.

“The stall size will be arranged by vendors themselves and we price each stall by square metres used,” he said. An outdoor stall of 1.5m by 1-metre size would mean Bt3,500 monthly rent, he said, as an example.

Outdoor stalls could sell goods for 12 hours a day (6pm to 6am), but indoor and riverside ones could sell goods around the clock, he added.

As the stalls had been prepared months ago upon the BMA request, Narang revealed that his company had shouldered a Bt3-million burden while waiting for the vendors to decide if they want to relocate to the alternative market.

“If the vendors don’t want to come, there are several investors or others who would come anyway, because the area’s booming,” he said.

Yodpiman was one of several alternate markets – others were the Agricultural Product Central Market and the Tha Din Daeng Market – that Pak Klong Talad vendors, and those at the nearby Saphan Phut Bridge, were told to relocate to.

Last week, BMA officials seeking to move the vendors, gave leniency – saying they had until February 29 to run their businesses as usual (from 8.30pm to 4.30am) before shifting. This was on condition they stay in the designated stall zone for the rest of time and there is no parking from Chak Phetch and Tri Phrtch roads.

Pak Klong Talad flower vendor Supapon Whanchaaim, who rented an indoor stall at Yodpiman’s new market section, told The Nation that she has been in the flower business for more than 16 years, as it was passed onto her by her mother. She said she still had another shop on the street in Pak Klong Talad area.

Supaporn said she had to pay Bt40,000 in monthly rent for the 36 square-metre stall, plus other fees like property tax and utilities, which put her monthly costs at about Bt50,000 a month, while she only made around Bt30,000.

“I’ve rented this stall to sell flowers for about six months now but still can’t afford the rent and expenses, so I have to take my budget from another stall on the street to keep this indoor shop going.”

Pak Klong Talad was more convenient for customers to get goods from the street and load them onto a tuk tuk or public bus, which don’t run to the new Yodpiman, she said.

Another flower vendor, Nirat Sornurat, said she was concerned about the rental fee, as sales had dropped over the last two years. “One of my regular clients used to buy 5,000 blooms per day from me, but now he buys only 2,500 blooms. I used to sell five truckloads of flowers a day, but now one truckload could be sold for three days.”