Food costs - Thailand vs the West

[GreasyFingers]

Just now, Mac Mickmanus said:

I didnt suggest that its healthy food in its own right , just healthier than Thai Street food where cooking oil is a main ingredient 

Give it up.

[hanuman2543]

On 7/18/2021 at 3:02 AM, BritManToo said:

50 euros is 3 weeks food shopping for me in Thailand!

No need to buy all your food in one go, there are shops everywhere, unlike the UK where it was a 20 mile trip to the nearest supermarket. I'm always surprised at the numbers of foreigners who move to Thailand but can't adapt to the way life is lived here.

This is about 2,50 Euros a day or about 90 Baht.  What the other members of your household are doing? Fasting? Not even real poor Thai people can survive on this. 

Edited July 19, 2021 by hanuman2543

[ChipButty]

On 7/18/2021 at 11:47 AM, BritManToo said:

I  only use HP Sauce.

Lazada deliver it to my front door.

My daughter always jokes about me HP sauce on everything, she asked me a while ago do I still put HP sauce on salad, Why not!

[ChipButty]

Seems like a lot of people shop on Lazada upto now I haven't done regarding food a few weeks ago somebody posted about Corned beef it's almost half the price on Lazada 

[kokesaat]

Three pages in and I don't see anyone discussing the price of Thai food in their home country.  Yes, dairy is cheaper in the US, but if your wife wants to make a plate of beef lahb and needs fresh mint and fish sauce and roasted ground rice, and chili peppers....if she's shopping at the nearest Asian store (if there is one), good luck with your cost savings.

After living in Thailand for 24 years, we were marooned with our daughter in the US for 13 months due to covid.   So we had a good opportunity to compare prices for all sorts of food, haircuts, take out, etc.  

Restaurants in the US generally have good lunch deals, but you'll break the bank on dinner meals.  Don't forget the tip!

Haircuts....here vs there.....no comparison

Mobile phone/internet here vs there......no comparison

Pimp up your car inside and out, no comparison

Need a plumber/carpenter/yard person/mechanic......good luck with that

Yes, the $1.50 hotdogs, $1.50 slice pizza and $4.99 chickens at Costco were bargains, but after 13 months of comparison shopping.....if you're largely on a Thai-based diet......you'll pay less here than there.  

[khunPer]

On 7/17/2021 at 3:12 PM, Tango777 said:

Over here skinless/boneless chicken breasts have gone from $ 1.99 at Walmart which has been their price for 10 years, to $ 2.09 in the last 4 weeks, a 5% increase.

Same product over here (in Thailand) is between 46 baht a kilo to somewhere up in the 50s baht for a kilo, price changes up and down almost daily, so that equals just under $2 for a kilo.

 

Food prices change little up and down all the time, but most people seems to mainly remember when it's "up". A lot of food prices are actually low at the moment, apart from egg prices that had an upturn about a month ago.

 

A good impression of average living costs in Thailand is the Consumer Price Index, which can be found HERE. End of June 2021 it was 99.93, it is 100 in 2015 so in average no change from 6 years ago, but it has been up to almost 103 in between; i.e. 3 percent up in between. 10 years ago the index was around 92, so for the last 10-year period consumer prices have in average increased between 8 percent and 9 percent...????

[BritManToo]

2 hours ago, hanuman2543 said:

This is about 2,50 Euros a day or about 90 Baht.  What the other members of your household are doing? Fasting? Not even real poor Thai people can survive on this. 

The women mainly eat plates full of (what appear to me to be) weeds.

Although my 10yo son tends to graze off my plate and live off omelets and crisps.

I also buy them a 30Kg sack of Jasmine rice every 3-4 months (1,500bht).

Edited July 19, 2021 by BritManToo

[hanuman2543]

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

The women mainly eat plates full of (what appear to me to be) weeds.

Although my 10yo son tends to graze off my plate and live off omelets and crisps.

I also buy them a 30Kg sack of Jasmine rice every 3-4 months (1,500bht).

That wasn't the question. How do you buy food for at least 3 people for 1900 Baht that lasts for 3 weeks?

[BritManToo]

2 hours ago, ChipButty said:

Seems like a lot of people shop on Lazada upto now I haven't done regarding food a few weeks ago somebody posted about Corned beef it's almost half the price on Lazada 

Food Variety and Samburi's are the places to look for reasonable priced food imports on Lazada.

If they ain't got it, I probably don't want it.

[rickudon]

8 hours ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Meat seems to be about the same price .

Cooked Chickens in the UK are about 3 quid and 120 Baht in Thailand , Steak is also about the same price and beer can be much cheaper when bought in supermarkets , about 40 % cheaper , 75 p compared to 50 Baht

Couldn't see cooked whole chickens on Tesco online but fresh chickens and chicken legs, thighs are about  90 baht a kilo, about one third more than Thailand. Breast of course twice as much in UK. 

 

BUT tinned tesco soup, about  20 baht, Spaghetti Bolognese 25 baht, about one third of what the price would be in Thailand. Also had a real apple today, nothing like the tasteless ones in Thailand. Looking forward to some fresh strawberries next.

[bbko]

After living in Thailand from 2007-2019 and returning to the US to for a 2 year work/Covid extended stay, I noticed how lazy Americans have become when it comes to cooking. The amount of ready made bags of thaw, heat and eat meals was mind-blowing. 

And during my 2 year stay in USA, I only ate Thai restaurant food twice, both times I couldn't believe I was paying so much money for a meal that wasn't as good as I could get here for a fraction of the price.  When I spoke with the Thai workers about their food, they agreed it's not the same as what's served in Thailand, mainly because they couldn't get the same ingredients at a reasonable price.

Edited July 19, 2021 by bbko

[Hanuman2547]

5 hours ago, bbko said:

 

And during my 2 year stay in USA, I only ate Thai restaurant food twice, both times I couldn't believe I was paying so much money for a meal that wasn't as good as I could get here for a fraction of the price.  When I spoke with the Thai workers about their food, they agreed it's not the same as what's served in Thailand, mainly because they couldn't get the same ingredients at a reasonable price.

Yes, Thai restaurants in the US have had a lot of price increases the last couple of years.  It used to be rather inexpensive to eat out at a Thai restaurant.  That has changed.  Of course it also depends on the location.  Eat in the downtown area of a large city and it will cost quite a bit more than in a smaller town or suburban area.  Salaries, utilities, and rent pay a very big part of this.

On the hand food in a US Thai restaurant is much healthier than in Thailand.  This has more to do with the amount of pesticides and other chemicals that are used to produce vegetables in Thailand.  In the US it is better regulated and safer.  The same can be said for chicken, beef, and pork.  In the US less steroids and other weight gaining products are injected or fed to animals than in the US.  Another area is that the soil, air, and water in Thailand is less healthy due to worse pollution in Thailand on average than in the US.  

Edited July 19, 2021 by Hanuman2547

[Hanuman2547]

"We bought these Thai Eggplants at an Asian foods Supermarket here. This store is one of the biggest around here, a former supermarket space. This is the stuff they make green curry with. $ 1.59 / lb."

 

Florida is cheaper than the Seattle area.  Thai Eggplants run about $2.99/lb around here.  There are a lot of Asian Markets in the greater Seattle area.  Some are as large as a Kroger grocery store so the competition between different stores is there.

[GreasyFingers]

7 hours ago, rickudon said:

Also had a real apple today, nothing like the tasteless ones in Thailand. 

You are correct about the apples here so we eat the green guava (called farang in Thai) as a substitute. We grow our own so always fresh with no chemicals.

[Holoman]

And what about the โสเภณี 1000 Baht or right now 2000 or even 5000 Baht?

[BritManToo]

On 7/20/2021 at 6:24 AM, Hanuman2547 said:

In the US it is better regulated and safer.

Apart from the fact the US food is all GMO.

[Hanuman2547]

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Apart from the fact the US food is all GMO.

Not even close!

[marin]

On 7/20/2021 at 6:24 AM, Hanuman2547 said:

On the hand food in a US Thai restaurant is much healthier than in Thailand.  This has more to do with the amount of pesticides and other chemicals that are used to produce vegetables in Thailand.  In the US it is better regulated and safer.  The same can be said for chicken, beef, and pork.  In the US less steroids and other weight gaining products are injected or fed to animals than in the US.  Another area is that the soil, air, and water in Thailand is less healthy due to worse pollution in Thailand on average than in the US.  

Edited July 20 by Hanuman2547

But it tastes like <deleted> as it in general has been watered down to fit the average America taste. Add to that the adapted recipes. A simple dish like Krapow is extremely hard to find as most Thai restaurants in America use mint instead of Thai basil as the key ingredient.  

Since you seem to have no idea what good Thai food is and think it is unhealthy you might be living in the wrong place. 

[DUNROAMIN]

Basic Thai food is very cheap here, anything that is imported you will pay a premium price due to government high import taxes.

[digger70]

Food costs - Thailand vs the West 

 

Again? 

[2009]

I feel ripped off paying 10 baht for like 2 tomatoes in a local market, or 10 baht for a package of sticky rice, or 35 baht for a papaya salad.

 

Rip off

[Mac Mickmanus]

Thai street food and cheap local restaurants are cheaper than similar eaterys in the U.K  .

   40-60 Baht in Thailand 6-10 Quid (250 Baht-400 Baht) in the UK .

  Supermarkets are a lot cheaper in the U.K and a much much bigger amount of variety and quality  .

  Getting to basis . 

It would be just as cheap living in the UK and eating supermarket food than it would be living in Thailand eating street food 

[StevieAus]

On 7/18/2021 at 8:27 AM, Mac Mickmanus said:

That's if you buy local food , if you buy Western food the cost in Thailand is 4-10 times more expensive than in the U.K

If you are talking about imported western food it’s bound to be more expensive based on transport customs clearance etc etc etc

[Liebemein]

Is that 206 gm? The price in Thailand depends on where you buy it. If you buy this type of eggplant from Villa market is expensive than Tops especially if it's organic. At local market it is 20 THB for the same quality.

[Iforbach]

Only matters if you are on budget...u hv take whole package rent ..household expenses . Travel ...I think ..overall I think it's cheaper live here than oz or uk ..

[sandyf]

On 7/18/2021 at 10:02 AM, BritManToo said:

Lazada ....... Food Variety shop, free shipping over 500bht, plus 7% discount over 1,000bht.

Lazada ...... Saimburi's 105bht for the slightly larger plastic squeezy bottles.

Siamburi is very good for western food at a reasonable price, they have Branston baked beans cheaper than the local brands in Tesco. I usually go down there about every 2 months and stock up, their cheese at about 300 baht/kilo is not much different to UK and last time I picked up a kilo of hash browns for 39 baht.

Considering the shipping costs it is a bit unreasonable to expect to get the same range of product at the same price.

I remember when Villa market first opened in Pattaya, they had parsnips I think nearly 200 baht a kilo. My mate bought some, couldn't believe it, he said he hadn't had them for around 10 years but wouldn't be doing it regularly. I think that about sums it up on western food over here.

[aussienam]

Rundown of shopping prices from an Australian perspective: Thai grocery prices are not cheap, if trying to replicate a western based diet here.  

Breakfast cereals here are very expensive. About 2-3 times more.  Breads are much more expensive. Again 2-3 times price.  Milk is 2-3 times more.  Chook eggs are cheaper (but smaller and lower quality).  Yoghurt is more expensive. About 3-4 times more.  Any dairy a lot more. 

Meats: Chicken is cheaper here.  Pork is cheaper.  Beef is much more expensive. About 2-4 times more. Lamb is very expensive. 

Vegetables: bought in supermarkets.  Depends on vegetables.  Mostly cheaper. Fruits, also depends. Eg.  Papaya is cheaper by about 2 x times. Standard bananas are more expensive.   Apples more expensive.  Orange more expensive.  Avocados - very expensive (unless opting for Asian avocados which I don't like).

Imported foods are obviously more expensive.  

Hygiene/bathroom products are more expensive.  

Buying goods at markets and if you are fortunate to come across a pickup selling discounted fresh produce, you can save several dollars/baht.  

Quality of fresh food in Oz compared to Thailand - like any Western country with proper refrigeration and strict standards, the quality is much higher.  Food spoils quickly here unless cooked and consumed quickly.  

I would not rate Thailand as a cheap country, but dropping western products off your shopping list, buying at the markets more, can get the bill down to below Australian prices.  I have been going back and forth between Oz and Thailand for many years.  In Oz I shopped mainly at Aldi, Woolworths & Coles less often and some local fruit & veggie markets.  Thailand: Big C, Tesco Lotus, Makro and of course 7-Eleven. 

[BritManToo]

11 minutes ago, aussienam said:

Breakfast cereals here are very expensive. About 2-3 times more. 

I would not rate Thailand as a cheap country,

Nestle Cornflakes are GBP2.20 for 500gm in the UK, 99bht for 500gm in Thailand.

At the current exchange rates that makes them the same price.

Milk GBP 1.19 for 2l in the UK, 83bht in Thailand, 30% more expensive here.

 

What about housing, my 3 bed house 10Km from Chiang Mai city centre was 1m8bht.

How much does a similar house in Oz 10Km from the city centre of Melbourne or Sydney cost?

 

How much would a 20 year younger wife Cost you in Oz?

 

I rate Thailand as extremely cheap.

Edited August 23, 2021 by BritManToo

[boonnoon]

I'm amazed as to why one buys vegetables and meat in a Thai supermarket when most are available in any open air market at much cheaper prices.