SA KAEO — The Rong Kluea border market has never been quiet, certainly not like it is on this particular Sunday with only a fraction of the vendors opening their shops after the crackdown on fake products.
About 30% of the shops were open on this day, but the majority remained shuttered at the notorious market which is also known as the Golden Gate Plaza, renowned for the variety of goods copied from famous brands.
The Cambodian vendors have gone back to their country with their counterfeit brand-name products, fearful of being arrested after hearing a report that police would carry out another raid at the market on Saturday at 8pm after one was mounted earlier in the morning.
Shop owners were selling their goods at fire-sale prices, but there were not many buyers present at the market, certainly nowhere near as many as in normal times.
One Thai merchant, who asked not to be named, said shops selling fake products were closed and the number of customers drastically decreased. Police have pledged to continue efforts to wipe out the knock-off trade at the market by April 30.
He said he and other vendors were selling their goods at knock-down prices and accepting loses of more than half of their capital outlay. The situation still allowed him to continue doing business, but soon he would have to shut up shop and return home to find a new job.
The Cambodian vendors at the Rong Kluea market have called on authorities to allow them to continue the knock-off trade for another two months, promising that afterwards there would be no selling of bogus brand-name products there.
Photo by Sawat Ketngam