Market access remains a major problem for local products
Market access remains a major problem for local products
Market access has become a major problem in implementing the government policy on commercial production, according to a village chief in Vientiane.
Thadeua village chief, Mr Don Souvanmany in Hadxaifong district said the village authorities were implementing the government policy to encourage people to produce goods for sale so they can generate income and reduce poverty.
“Our villagers have a long tradition of making Khaolaam (sticky rice baked inside a bamboo cylinder). Almost all families in the village can produce the food for sale but the major problem is the market,” he said. “If we tell the villagers to produce goods for sale, they always ask whether the authorities will secure a market for them.”
He said the higher authorities should help local people to access markets before encouraging them to produce goods for sale, adding that Khaolaam in Thadeua is very delicious and could be a potential product for the district.
In many countries, the government sets up a production group in villages and builds an exhibition centre where local people can sell the goods. The centre not only markets the goods but provides background and history of the local products for tourists.
Due to the lack of a market there are only five families out of 450 in the village producing Khaolaam for sale. Some of the Khaolaam makers found a market at the Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge while others sell the food to tourists travelling to a tourist site in the village nearby.
One of the Khaolaam makers, Mr Inpone Luangaphay said his family makes Khaolaam because they found the job easy to do, adding that his family did not learn how to make the food but inherited their skills from their ancestors.
“I changed jobs to be a Khaolaam maker because cooking the food is much easier. I am also getting older so I needed a new job, which is not too heavy for me,” he said.
He said he invested about 200,000 kip in producing the food, adding that if he sold all of the stock, he would earn about 350,000 kip, giving a profit of about 150,000 kip per day. He explained that during festival times, he produced more due to higher demand for the traditional product.
Market access is not just a Thadeua village issue but a chronic problem in Laos. Farmers who produce sweet corn and rubber growers also face market problems with prices of agricultural produce remaining volatile.
An economist, Dr Mana Southichak said the government should not only encourage people to produce goods for sale but also needs to provide them with a market.
He also said that agricultural producers also need insurance so they can get money back in case of natural disaster.
vientiane times
