Is Thailand really getting more expensive?

[BritManToo]

This is a recurrent theme by many posters, "Thailand is getting much more expensive", but I'm not seeing that. I previously posted this list, generally my shopping bills (containing many Brit items) in Thailand has been going down significantly.

 

 

Sure pork has gone up a lot, and white rice has risen a little, egg prices have always been volatile.

But on the other hand quality pork sausages are the cheapest I've ever seen here.

https://www.makroclick.com/th/products/844546-pork-king-cumberland-pork-thick-sausage-1000g/

Petrol was 33bht/l when I arrived in 2009, so for me it's price has gone down.

My mortgage repayments have dropped from 12kbht/month to 9kbht/month in the past 8 years as the interest rates have dropped.

 

So where are these price rises, what are you buying that's gone up so much for you to claim 'Thailand is becoming expensive'?

I'm just wondering?

 

PS.

Happy Xmas everyone!

Edited December 25, 2021 by BritManToo

[sanuk711]

8 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

So where are these price rises, what are you buying that's gone up so much for you claim

Women.............................

[hotandsticky]

9 minutes ago, sanuk711 said:

Women.............................

 

 

Not the ones I buy.

 

The last 20 months have been a buyers market.

[sanuk711]

4 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

Not the ones I buy.

I think you mean "rent" hotandsticky............... Yes, its to be expected, as I creep along towards the big 80...... I sometimes glance in the mirror and think----gosh they should be charging me a million...............

[zzaa09]

Lifestyle and particular types of spending/purchases might be reflective of such claims. 

The general cost of living hasn't really risen that much, whatsoever, in the last decade or generation or beyond. 

 

A few things, here and there, have seen some slight increases over the years - but for the most part, everyday life is still quite reasonable. 

 

 

[KannikaP]

45 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

But on the other hand quality pork sausages are the cheapest I've ever seen here.

https://www.makroclick.com/th/products/844546-pork-king-cumberland-pork-thick-sausage-1000g/

OUT OF STOCK.

Makro's own sliced bread, vollkorn, has gone up from 40 to 65 Baht in the last 6 months.

[EricTh]

7 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

OUT OF STOCK.

Makro's own sliced bread, vollkorn, has gone up from 40 to 65 Baht in the last 6 months.

 

How does Makro bread compare to other brands? 

 

[worgeordie]

Vegetables are expensive at the moment , but hopefully it's

seasonal and prices will come down, supply and demand ,

and depends where you buy goods from , Tops ,little Potatoes

41 THB  half a Kg. wholesale market 15 THB Kg 10 kg bag, same

with Onions ,expensive in Supermarkets. Orchid butter 100 THB +

200 gram, expatfoods , NZ butter 195 THB Kg. 

When I first arrived here Petrol 8 THB Ltr , some bottled water

was more expensive , 

regards worgeordie

 

 

[BritManToo]

12 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

OUT OF STOCK.

Makro's own sliced bread, vollkorn, has gone up from 40 to 65 Baht in the last 6 months.

They had a freezer full in my local branch (Mae Rim) yesterday (and Italian sausages that I've not tried yet). Had two for my Xmas breakfast this morning (and lunch yesterday), as good as any pork sausage I've ever eaten.

 

 

 

Edited December 25, 2021 by BritManToo

[Farmerslife]

14 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

They had a freezer full in my local branch (Mae Rim) yesterday (and Italian sausages that I've not tried yet). Had two for my Xmas breakfast this morning (and lunch yesterday), as good as any pork sausage I've ever eaten.

 

 

 

Just curious, the other day you posted a picture of mince pies, today it's sausage and chips with a coke (or whisky and coke, perhaps ????) . 

Have you ever eaten anything green, other than biting the heads off martians?????????

[Farmerslife]

20 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

They had a freezer full in my local branch (Mae Rim) yesterday (and Italian sausages that I've not tried yet). Had two for my Xmas breakfast this morning (and lunch yesterday), as good as any pork sausage I've ever eaten.

 

 

 

Just curious, the other day you posted a picture of mince pies, today it's sausage and chips with a coke (or whisky and coke, perhaps ????) . 

Have you ever eaten anything green, other than biting the heads off martians?????????

[ezzra]

Prices are going up all over the world, i talk to people i know in the middle east and Aust and the same all are up remarkably on last year, the reasons? Covid, no workers and more Covid, what can we do, not much it seems... good thing i don't live on a budget like many others...

[DaLa]

Thailand is still good value for money, especially on the high ticket items such as a roof over your head. I was up in Chiang Mai recently and noticed it was markedly cheaper than Bangkok but it didn't have a great impact on my overall spending.

 

I have only noticed 2 items that appear to have risen in price a great deal faster than general inflation....1. Haircut, gone from 80 to 100 baht and 2. Tops import pork pies from a UK supermarket chain, 95 to 185 baht.

 

Hopefully not eating pork pies will make my hair grow less.

[StayinThailand2much]

Well, I rarely (meaning 'never') buy bread flour, but yes, other things (e.g. pork, beef, chicken, eggs, tuna, salmon, fruit, milk, coffee) are getting, continuously, more expensive, and even more so since the start of the pandemic. Same for some imported foods, but with 150% or so import tax already added to the price, it is less noticeable.

 

A few things have barely moved in price, it seems (e.g. beer), but, sadly I eat more food than I drink beer.

Edited December 25, 2021 by StayinThailand2much

[roo860]

1 hour ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

Not the ones I buy.

 

The last 20 months have been a buyers market.

Do they have a 'use by' date?

????

[connda]

It depends where you go to shop.
Here in the village, a bowl of noodles that cost you 20 THB last year costs you - 20 THB today.
Produce costs haven't budged. 
Where I can see price increased is at Big C who jacks up prices for things that I never buy from them anyway - like produce.  The other items getting jacked up in price are imported items.  Meat prices have increased marginally but often you can find sales.  The only thing I miss is Salmon which I use to buy at Big C but the price about doubled.  So I'll just eat locally bred fish now.  A few items have marginally increased in the local fresh markets but it's supply and demand.  When there is a large supply they can't jack the prices up. 

This ain't the West. 

[Andrew Dwyer]

6 minutes ago, roo860 said:

Do they have a 'use by' date?

????

No, only a “shower by “ date !

[connda]

1 hour ago, sanuk711 said:

Women.............................

 

30 minutes ago, ezzra said:

Prices are going up all over the world, i talk to people i know in the middle east and Aust and the same all are up remarkably on last year, the reasons? Covid, no workers and more Covid, what can we do, not much it seems... good thing i don't live on a budget like many others...

I've got close to a Rai of land.  Most of that belongs to the pack of dogs (7).  But I've got a nice space for digging up dirt, planting seeds, water, and viola!
Produce.  Other than elbow grease it's free.  Don't use chemicals.  The bugs get a bit, we get most of it. 

[scubascuba3]

Just in the last few weeks chicken breast has gone from 45 to 72 baht a kilo, tomatoes 39 baht a kilo to over a 100, no idea why

[Czmate]

I assume when we talk about Ferangs saying it’s more expensive you have to compare the base prices to the exchange rates 9 years ago which was running at around 49/£1 so we are by default today finding things are about 10% more expensive.

 

Of course depends on your financial circumstances if you brought your life’s savings to Thailand back in 2014 when it was around 53baht you could say it’s not effecting you.

 

But my opinion is most are relying on pensions and investments being transferred here on a regular basis.. 

 

Couple that all together with the massive increase in Logistics costs over the last couple of years for imported goods then for sure it’s getting more expensive but it’s still a relatively cheaper place to live.

[Denim]

15 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

tomatoes 39 baht a kilo to over a 100, no idea why

Our local Big C has not had tomatoes for several weeks now so I got them from the market using my usual vegetable lady who is always the cheapest. She had some but I was surprised that even she had to charge a lot for them.

 

Must be out of season ?

[NanLaew]

2 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

2 hours ago, sanuk711 said:

Women.............................

 

 

Not the ones I buy.

 

The last 20 months have been a buyers market

The problem is though, you need to keep buying the same (old) ones.

 

According to a friend, I mean.

[NanLaew]

11 minutes ago, Denim said:

Our local Big C has not had tomatoes for several weeks now so I got them from the market using my usual vegetable lady who is always the cheapest. She had some but I was surprised that even she had to charge a lot for them.

 

Must be out of season ?

Yes. Decent red and tasty tomato's are out of season right now.

 

However, it's jalapeno season at the Royal project farm shops right now.

Edited December 25, 2021 by NanLaew

[BritManToo]

3 hours ago, Farmerslife said:

Just curious, the other day you posted a picture of mince pies, today it's sausage and chips with a coke (or whisky and coke, perhaps ????) . 

Have you ever eaten anything green, other than biting the heads off martians?????????

I do eat Bell peppers & tomato, potatoes, sometimes rice, but my body is generally a green vegetable free zone.

Edited December 25, 2021 by BritManToo

[BritManToo]

2 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

Well, I rarely (meaning 'never') buy bread flour, but yes, other things (e.g. pork, beef, chicken, eggs, tuna, salmon, fruit, milk, coffee) are getting, continuously, more expensive,

Would point out Milk has a maximum price set by the Thai government at 91.25bht/2l (or was it 91.50bht?).

If it's gone up in the past 5 years the retailer would be breaking the law.

Raw milk is even cheaper from the Thai-Danish dairy @135bht/5l.

 

Up in Chiang Mai we've been having a bit of a milk price war with 3 dairies fighting it out.

Price has been reduced to between 79-87bht(2l) for the past year.

Meiji have stuck it out at the maximum price though.

[Airalee]

2 hours ago, Czmate said:

I assume when we talk about Ferangs saying it’s more expensive you have to compare the base prices to the exchange rates 9 years ago which was running at around 49/£1 so we are by default today finding things are about 10% more expensive.

 

Of course depends on your financial circumstances if you brought your life’s savings to Thailand back in 2014 when it was around 53baht you could say it’s not effecting you.

 

But my opinion is most are relying on pensions and investments being transferred here on a regular basis.. 

 

Couple that all together with the massive increase in Logistics costs over the last couple of years for imported goods then for sure it’s getting more expensive but it’s still a relatively cheaper place to live.

Cherry picking exchange rate dates doesn’t prove anything.  Sure, people can look back at those rare short periods where their currencies were worth a lot more, but for the USD, EUR and GBP, I can go back and pick dates along the 10 year chart that would support the statement “it’s so much cheaper to live here now due to the exchange rates!”

 

All that really matters is the cost of something in ฿.

 

Most food is pretty much the same.  Even the imported foods I buy are the same and haven’t risen from what I see over the last few years.  In fact, with fewer foreigners here to buy such food, it often goes on sale.  Cheese, butter, etc.  all cheaper for me than 10 years ago.

 

Rents.  I look at a couple condos that I know in CM.  In 2012/2013 they were renting for ฿15,000 and gradually over time have slid down to 10-12k.  They were those prices pre-Covid.  The condos I have rented in Bangkok fell about 30% from 2017 until now.

 

Thai/Foot Massage.  Might have gone up ฿50/hour in 10 years depending on the shop.  Most have stayed the same.

 

Healthcare for cash pay has gone up slightly but far more than offset by the reductions in rent.

 

Beer/Cigarettes…I don’t drink or smoke anymore (let’s hope I can stick to it this time) but last time I checked, Camels were about the same price and a Bottle of Tawney port (my drink of choice when I have that rare drink) is actually cheaper than I can buy it in the US.  I can’t figure that one out because yes, most decent alcohol appears to be quite expensive here.

 

Cars.  Used luxury cars are much cheaper than they were 10 years ago.  The market is flooded with second hand Mercedes, BMWs etc. due to so many people having bought them new (on credit) over the last 5-10 years.  Certain specialty cars have held their value or even increased over the last few years but those are few and far between.

 

Movies.  Still the same price as 10 years ago.

 

Need I go on?

[bkk6060]

I assume it is people with little money who are clueless about economics.

Prices on a can of beans goes up 5 baht and they complain.

But, much bigger inflation is coming here just wait anyone keeping up on what is happening in western countries Thailand will not be immune.  Minus 40 million tourists has not created much demand.  Once they start coming back, and they will, prices on many items will increase I believe substantially especially food and consumer staples.

[TheScience]

Scotch is ridiculously expensive. Beer is poor value. I don't buy much bread but that's up 20%.

 

I've always just bought what's on sale which gives me variety. Even if veggies up a bit we don't buy much for a weekend for two.

 

Work provides lunch for self and wife.

 

Our favorite restaurants still same price.

 

Overall though, I do watch prices closely I'd say up 10% past year easily on average Big C central Bangkok.

 

Long haul VIP bus service up 10%.

Edited December 25, 2021 by TheScience

[BritManToo]

41 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

I assume it is people with little money who are clueless about economics.

Prices on a can of beans goes up 5 baht and they complain.

But, much bigger inflation is coming here just wait anyone keeping up on what is happening in western countries Thailand will not be immune.  Minus 40 million tourists has not created much demand.  Once they start coming back, and they will, prices on many items will increase I believe substantially especially food and consumer staples.

I don't believe there will be any tourists coming back in the next 3-5 years.

COVID bans are here to stay for the foreseeable future.

Not that they affect anything except hotel prices.

[timendres]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

Would point out Milk has a maximum price set by the Thai government at 91.25bht/2l (or was it 91.50bht?).

 

Wow! For years I have wondered why milk prices always had satang. Mystery solved! Thank you.