More than 100 vendors from the Rim Nuea Community Market in Mae Rim district gathered at Chiang Mai Provincial Hall this morning to submit a petition seeking assistance from Governor Ratthapol Naradisorn, following an order by the Rim Nuea Subdistrict Municipality to close the market from 1st January 2026.
Market vendors say the closure will leave them without a place to earn a living, while residents fear the loss of an essential community marketplace. The market has been operating since 1999, or more than 26 years, and was traditionally managed by the community without major issues.
According to vendor representatives, problems began between 2022 and 2024 when the municipality allowed a private company to sublease and manage the market. Stall fees were increased from 10 baht to 25 baht per square metre per day, leading to financial hardship. Eighteen vendors who refused to pay the new rates were sued for eviction. Even after the contract ended in late 2024, the same operator allegedly continued collecting stall fees.
On 22nd October 2025, the municipality announced the market would close from 31st December 2025, citing plans to redevelop the state-owned site into a child development centre. Vendors say many have traded there since the market opened and have nowhere else to go. Local residents and farmers supplying fresh produce are also affected.
Vendors noted that a privately operated market has opened nearby and is currently encouraging vendors to relocate, but many prefer to remain at the original site due to lower rental costs.
Supin Kaewkhammuangjai, an egg seller who has worked at the market since its first day, said the closure order was issued abruptly. She said the new market charges an entry fee of 3,500 baht per square metre and a daily fee of 20 baht, which she described as too expensive. She called for the order to be revoked or, if closure is unavoidable, for authorities to give at least one to two years’ notice.
Sunanta Praphutphitthaya, a local resident, said the market was built on state land using Miyazawa Initiative funding in 1999 to address the economic crisis. She said any plan to convert the market into a child development centre should involve public consultation and a clear assessment of public benefit.
In the latest development, Nakkaprat Chaiyanon, Head of the Chiang Mai Provincial Office, accepted the petition on behalf of the governor. Officials from the Provincial Damrongtham Centre are scheduled to inspect the site and meet all parties on 24th December 2025 to seek a resolution.
