The Rim Moei market near the Thai-Myanmar border in Mae Sot district of Tak, which is usually packed with shoppers and tourists, especially during weekends, has been eerily quiet since the flare-up in fighting between junta and rebel forces last week.

Many shops in the market have closed due to the lack of customers.

Thanatporn Phakham, a trader in the market, said that the current situation is worse than the post-COVID pandemic period, when customers started to visit the market again.

Another vendor said that the unpredictable situation is causing customers to hesitate to visit the market. She said that intense fighting erupts, with the sounds of explosions and bursts of gunfire, then everything goes quiet for few days before fighting erupts again.

The vendors assert, however, that the market is safe, but visitors are not convinced.

Traders in the fresh market in Mae Sot district are also complaining that their businesses are being hit hard by the closure of the Mae Sot 1 border checkpoint, saying that the closure means they cannot transport fresh vegetables, fruit, fish and meat into Myanmar.

Manoi, a flower shop-owner, said she used to earn about 10,000 baht a day, selling flowers brought from Chiang Mai to customers in Myawaddy township, but her sales have dropped to about 2,000 baht a day since the fighting in Myawaddy flared up.

A mango trader also complained of poor business. She said that, before the fighting, she could sell four tonnes of mango to Burmese traders from Myawaddy township in just two days, but now it takes her about a week to clear the stock, because her customers cannot come to pick up the goods.