Thursday, March 23, 2023
Khmer Daily Cambodia News
34 °c
Phnom Penh
  • LATEST
  • CAMBODIA
  • ASIA
    • JAPAN
    • SOUTH KOREA
    • TAIWAN
  • WORLD
    • CHINA
    • RUSSIA
  • BUSINESS CAMBODIA
  • TECHNOLOGY
No Result
View All Result
  • LATEST
  • CAMBODIA
  • ASIA
    • JAPAN
    • SOUTH KOREA
    • TAIWAN
  • WORLD
    • CHINA
    • RUSSIA
  • BUSINESS CAMBODIA
  • TECHNOLOGY
No Result
View All Result
The Khmer Daily
No Result
View All Result
Home ASIA Cambodia

Pchum Ben, Cambodia Buddhist Festival : A drop in sales and a rise in prices

September 10, 2020
in Business, Cambodia, National
0
Pchum Ben, Cambodia Buddhist Festival : A drop in sales and a rise in prices
0
SHARES
43
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Pchum Ben Festival has now begun and Phnom Penh market stalls have seen a drop in sales for clothing and kitchenware, causing a rise in prices.

Pchum Ben – Ancestors’ Day – is the biggest religious festival for Cambodian Buddhists to pray for their dearly departed relatives.

The whole ceremony takes up 15 days and this year’s Pchum Ben runs between Sept 3 and 18 with the public holidays being Sept 16, 17 and 18.

The festivities involve families dressing up and going to their usual family pagoda to pray and give food.

Because of this, businesses usually look forward to this holiday because people will come to buy new clothing and kitchenware to use over the festival.

However, shop owners at both Orussey market and Central Market reported a drop in sales this year. Eight shopkeepers said they have seen a decrease in sales so have had to raise their prices slightly.

They believe this is because people are being more wary with their money because of salary decreases after COVID-19 struck.

Khin Sokunthea, a market stall owner, selling Khmer-style clothing at Orrusey Market, said: “We have seen a drop in sales by around 30 percent. I think people are using the clothes they already have from the previous year. I have had to put my prices up by around 20 percent to try and even things out a little.”

Although prices have been raised by 20 percent, it didn’t seem to put off the few shoppers present at Orrusey Market.

One shopper who did not wish to be named explained she had paid close to $50 for her outfit, whereas last year she had only paid around $40.

“I can understand why prices have gone up. Things have changed a lot since the pandemic. The sellers need to put food on the table and my family needs new clothes to go to the pagoda,” she said.

At Central Market, a kitchenware stall selling the usual Khmer style lunch boxes that people use to carry food to the temples was sat dormant.

“The markets have been very quiet like this for months. People just aren’t spending the money here like they used to. We expect at this time of the year to have more customers. Not only are we seeing a lack of tourist money because of COVID-19, but locals are also being shy with their cash,” said 53-year-old Bun Kompheak.

Even with a drop in sales, though, stall owners at each market still had a smile on their faces.

“This is a very special time of the year for Cambodia. This is a time we can get together with loved ones. It brings families together from all parts of the country,” Bun went on to say.

Pchum Ben is a public holiday in Cambodia that follows the period called “Vassa”, a kind of Buddhist Lent, and has been kept with great devotion by the Khmer people for longer than anyone can remember.

Pchum in the Khmer language means “coming together” and Ben means “a ball of food”. Buddhists believe that the spirits of their deceased ancestors will be freed when given offerings during Pchum Ben.

This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.

Tags: CambodiaCambodia Buddhist FestivalPchum BenPhnom Penh
Previous Post

Story of Indian man who ordered truckload of rice goes viral

Next Post

Cambodia fragrant rice market is promising compared with Thailand and Vietnam

Related Posts

Nearly 10,000 national and international tourists flock to see Equinox at Angkor Wat Temple

Nearly 10,000 national and international tourists flock to see Equinox at Angkor Wat Temple

by Khmer Times
March 22, 2023
0
5

A total 8,726 national and international tourists this morning flocked to Angkor Wat Temple in Siem Reap provincial city to...

Cambodia’s 1st full flight simulator officially put into use under the Lanmei Aviation Group

Cambodia’s 1st full flight simulator officially put into use under the Lanmei Aviation Group

by Khmer Times
March 22, 2023
0
5

The International Aviation Flight Simulator Centre (IAFSC), which is the first full flight simulator in Cambodia, was officially put into...

Angkor Wat in Cambodia becomes favourite destination for Equinox tourism

Angkor Wat in Cambodia becomes favourite destination for Equinox tourism

by Khmer Times
March 21, 2023
0
4

A large number of international and domestic tourists visited the Angkor Wat Temple in Siem Reap province yesterday morning to...

Most Popular

Google suspends Chinese app Pinduoduo from Play store after malware is found

Google suspends Chinese app Pinduoduo from Play store after malware is found

March 22, 2023
27
Rebels in Indonesia’s Papua release New Zealand hostage video

Rebels in Indonesia’s Papua release New Zealand hostage video

March 12, 2023
20
Biden speaks with California governor about Silicon Valley Bank: White House

Biden speaks with California governor about Silicon Valley Bank: White House

March 12, 2023
19
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappearance: New Netflix series dives into mystery of vanished jet

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappearance: New Netflix series dives into mystery of vanished jet

March 12, 2023
16
Chea Serey is the new Deputy Governor of National Bank of Cambodia

Chea Serey is the new Deputy Governor of National Bank of Cambodia

March 12, 2023
13
Meta must face trial over AI trade secrets, judge says

Meta must face trial over AI trade secrets, judge says

March 8, 2023
13

© 2020 By Khmer Daily News

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Latest
  • Cambodia
  • ASIA
  • World
  • Business
  • Tech

© 2019 The Khmer Daily.

error: Content is protected !!