Samuela Draka said he and other Naitasiri produce sellers were surprised when police officers stopped them from crossing the Sawani containment border early this week.
He said they were told to sell their vegetables at the checkpoint and to shop at a nearby supermarket.
“There was no warning given to us, I told them I have a baby and I need to go to Nausori Town to buy essential things such as diapers and formula,” Mr Draka said.
“We have only one supermarket but a lot of the shelves are empty and they don’t have everything we need.”
He said selling at the border was not profitable.
“Because there is a lot of competition, the income is much less compared to how much we would earn at the market.
“We were forced to sell our vegetables for almost half price.” Another vendor, Litia Nai, shared similar sentiments.
“When we came to sell our vegetables at 4am, we were shocked to see the border moved further down.
“We are not prepared as this is just the beginning of the week and we do our shopping at the end of the week when we go into Nausori Town,” she said.
