FOOD traders in several districts across the country are turning to online platforms to hawk their goods after authorities cancelled Ramadan bazaars during the movement control order (MCO).

A number of traders in the northern states told The Malaysian Insight that they are now actively joining Facebook groups in their areas that bring together traders and buyers.

Many have already started pushing their goods ahead of Ramadan that is expected to start at the end of the month.

Gigau Food and Beverages managing director Aniza Isahak, 44, from Kuala Ketil, Kedah, said her drinks business is severely affected and she fears the situation may continue until Ramadan.

She has set up a Facebook group that mobilised traders from around Kuala Ketil, so they could continue doing business during the fasting month.

“I started the Kuala Ketil Online Ramadan Bazaar Facebook group, and so far we have 100 dealers and 5,000 buyers.

“This group is a trading site for them. I let people join, and even help them to market their products through videos,” said Aniza, who also owns businesses in Perak, Penang, Kedah, and Perlis.

“One bazaar may have 100 to 200 traders. If there are 10 bazaars, there are already 2,000 traders. If they have more than two employees then the Covid-19 situation will not only affect them but the workers can also lose their jobs.”

Aniza, who also owns a tea factory, had plans to make it a distribution centre for customers.

“Most of our vendors have their own food delivery system, but we also plan to provide food delivery services by choosing the 10 most tasty and popular options.

“I provide this service to increase employment while helping village traders. 

“For those who have never been in business, they can try to sell their products as they can cook at home without having to rent a site.”

Waiters turn delivery riders

D ‘Sofea Grill restaurant owner Mohd Fadzli Zainudin, 34, said workers who had been waiters are now delivering food.

In addition to preparing for the Ramadan bazaar, he has started delivering food to his customers in Kangar, Perlis since the MCO was implemented.

“Our staff are all still employed but they need to do food delivery.

“Business has declined. Before the MCO we were able to make close to RM2,000 a day but now we can only get RM300 to RM500.”

For Ramadan, he joined several Facebook groups to market his food products.

“In addition to advertising on Facebook and providing food delivery services, I also use services from Foodpanda to expand sales.”

On April 3, Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said Ramadan bazaars would not be allowed as long as the MCO was implemented to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

However, Penang, Sabah, Kedah and Terengganu have cancelled their bazaars altogether.

Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa, who created a furore earlier when he suggested that the bazaars would be allowed, had retracted his announcement.

Instead, he said Ramadan bazaars could be done in the form of drive-through, pre-order and e-hailing delivery. https://www.themalaysianinsight.com/s/235881

On Facebook, searches show that almost every state have opened pages for Ramadan bazaars.

The groups are actively looking for merchants and customers, and some are already advertising their products online.

These efforts include areas in Bayan Lepas and Permatang Pauh in Penang, Muar in Johor and Sentul, Kuala Lumpur.

A new food delivery app, known as OdaMakan, has a platform for Ramadan bazaars to deliver their products to their customers. https://myname.com/bes/

OdaMakan northern district director Md Shifon Nizam said the new platform for the Ramadan bazaar was launched last week, and has amassed more than 900 traders.

He said the company also welcomes all kinds of businesses whether they are stalls, home based, or small kiosks to join them.

“Peviously, people can only order food within a 10km radius but we have extended it to 20km.

“Traders from 60 bazaars from Perak, Penang, Kedah, including Langkawi have joined us.”

Shifon said each of their “bazaars” only have about 30 to 50 traders to avoid having too many food options.

He added that the OdaMakan application does not charge merchants, as the business is conducted on a small scale.

“The merchant will benefit from the variety of products he sells in the store. We charge consumers 25% of each order and delivery charges.” – April 9, 2020.