Nam, 56, who has a vegetable farm in her native Tra Vinh Province, has been selling tomato, peas, mushroom, broccoli, cabbage, cucumber, and spinach in HCMC. The buyers in turn sell them to colleagues and friends.

Knowing that people in the city, especially in locked-down areas are finding it hard to buy groceries due to shortages cause by the Covid-19 outbreak, people in southern provinces are picking vegetables and fish from their gardens and ponds or buying them, and shipping them by long-distance coach to their relatives in HCMC.

The latter consume a part and sell the rest.

A residential community in District 5 formed an online market group on Facebook and signed up over 2,600 members within eight hours for buying and selling homegrown foodstuff, mainly vegetables and fruits.

A member, Le Thu, said she cannot eat all the orange, lemon, guava, cucumber, and cabbage her parents in the southern province of Tien Giang send and so sells them on the group at VND20,000-30,000 ($0.87-1.30) per kilogram.

Amid HCMC’s 15-day social distancing order under which most traditional and makeshift markets are closed, people are finding it difficult to buy enough fresh foodstuff.

Kim Xuyen of Binh Thanh District said she has managed to buy no fresh vegetables or spices in the last six days except for 500 gm of chili for VND40,000 at a supermarket.

Since July 14 the city Department of Industry and Trade has joined hands with businesses to open 1,000 mobile outlets to sell food and foodstuff.

It plans to resume fruit and vegetable sales at some traditional markets.