Can we still afford to shop at Thai supermarkets?

[Albert Zweistein]

14 hours ago, BE88 said:

True,  never eat before but eaten so many succulent carrots like now in Thailand

 

Enjoy your meal.

[Stargeezr]

People tend to eat the food that they grew up with, and are comfortable with.

When I visit Thailand, I will try a local dish or two, but generally eat the western

food that my body is used to. My Thai family cooks up snow peas, and other

food for me, and they do not use, nam pla, or a lot of salt as they know I cannot

stand it.  I cannot eat some of the veggies from Thailand, as they are too hard to chew

  and some have a flavor that I cannot get used to. That is my reason for eating the

more expensive western foods, for the posters who seem to think that I should only eat

Thai or Asian food.   Good luck to all you shoppers.

[starky]

If you can't afford shopping maybe you should fxxk off....oh but wait if you can't afford to live in the what used to be the third world/developing nation that you thought your meagre allowance would let you live forever than you would be a deadset broke in whatever first world nation your originally from. 

  What a pathetic topic. 

[KhaoYai]

3 hours ago, bert bloggs said:

⁰if your in Pattaya buy cheese in Siamburys it is far cheaper,they nearly always have specials ,and that goes for most things 

Nowhere near unfortunately.

[BritManToo]

9 hours ago, Stargeezr said:

That is my reason for eating the

more expensive western foods, for the posters who seem to think that I should only eat

Thai or Asian food.   Good luck to all you shoppers.

Western food isn't any more expensive if you cook from basic ingredients.

I hardly ever eat Thai food, just don't like the taste.

 

Price rises .........

M&Ms, now 26bht a packet in BigC/7-11 ......... 21bht/packet in Makro, but you have to buy 6.

Edited March 5, 2022 by BritManToo

[BritManToo]

10 hours ago, shdmn said:

I think the cheddar at Friendship (imported from Ireland as I recall) was probably a little better.

Mainland Vintage Cheddar 265bht for 500gm in Makro.

Can't beat the taste!

Horeka Cheddar (plastic American block) 325bht for 1Kg in Makro.

OK in sandwiches or burgers.

Edited March 5, 2022 by BritManToo

[Lacessit]

12 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

The price of Cheese in Thailand has always amazed me, its not imported so why is it so expensive?

Thai cheese is horrible, just like Thai wine. It's like eating plasticine. They really need to import oenologists and cheese artisans to learn how to make both properly, but I suppose face gets in the way.

I buy Gouda imported from Holland. I pine for the days when I could eat a Top Paddock craft cheese made by an Austrian guy who emigrated to Australia. He was an artist with cheeses.

[sammieuk1]

4 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Western food isn't any more expensive if you cook from basic ingredients.

I hardly ever eat Thai food, just don't like the taste.

 

Price rises .........

M&Ms, now 26bht a packet in BigC/7-11 ......... 21bht/packet in Makro, but you have to buy 6.

Don't buy your fresh chicken drumsticks in Villa Market 250bt per kg 86bt in Tesco go fresh ????

[scubascuba3]

15 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

 

Price rises .........

M&Ms, now 26bht a packet in BigC/7-11 ......... 21bht/packet in Makro, but you have to buy 6.

Best Supermarket has M&Ms and Snickers for 15 baht, hard to resist getting fat

[crouchpeter]

23 hours ago, kralledr said:

Even medicine is more expensive, i need a special creme for my itchy balls, but i can't pay anymore ????

Have them surgically removed. I did, and no more itching, no more molesting and raping, no more dark thoughts. Plus, I'm more attractive to other men with my high voice and plump, cuddly body!

[ThailandRyan]

9 minutes ago, crouchpeter said:

Have them surgically removed. I did, and no more itching, no more molesting and raping, no more dark thoughts. Plus, I'm more attractive to other men with my high voice and plump, cuddly body!

Surgically removed, nah just twist a large rubber band around the sack like they do to cats, they will eventually turn black and fall off.....

[Thujone]

Just now, ThailandRyan said:

Surgically removed, nah just twist a large rubber band around the sack like they do to cats, they will eventually turn black and fall off.....

I really shouldn't eat while I'm reading the comments...

[bert bloggs]

To be honest,i eat very little Western food, although the wife tends to make all Thai food with not a lot of hot spices,i reckon she got into the habit after living in the UK for so long,mind you we do get through the marmite,she eats it,the only Thai i know who does,

[Jimbo53]

On 3/3/2022 at 7:17 PM, pomchop said:

"I would say my personal food shop has gone up around 20% in the last six months, especially if I stick to the expat-type style supermarkets."

 

These expat markets selling western foods have always been premium priced....if u want western food maybe live in the west or if you MUST have it in Thailand be prepared to pay major premiums.  Never ceases to amaze me how many falangs move to Thailand and then try to eat/drink like they are back in their home country.

 

 

Each to their own..you reckon everyone thats come's to Thailand should just eat Thai food? The smell and look of most of it would turn your stomach,especially in a market,that's why a lot of foreigners prefer to go with what they have been used to eating all their lives,and still have their rear ends intact after a meal.

[Eloquent pilgrim]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

Mainland Vintage Cheddar 265bht for 500gm in Makro.

Can't beat the taste!

Horeka Cheddar (plastic American block) 325bht for 1Kg in Makro.

OK in sandwiches or burgers.

Absolutely, if you want to eat cheddar in Thailand, it has to be Mainland Vintage, matured for 24 months; or. of course, when you can find it (Villa Market - sometimes) Mainland Epicure, matured for 36 months. It’s more expensive but worth it for the extra strength.

[Will B Good]

2 minutes ago, Jimbo53 said:

Each to their own..you reckon everyone thats come's to Thailand should just eat Thai food? The smell and look of most of it would turn your stomach,especially in a market,that's why a lot of foreigners prefer to go with what they have been used to eating all their lives,and still have their rear ends intact after a meal.

Very true.......the food in an London Thai restaurant bears no relation to 'real' Thai food  (certainly not Isan/Laos food for sure).

 

I have slowly gravitated to a very limited number of Thai dishes when eating out, but tend to survive off salad and chips at home.........sad?

[Jimbo53]

2 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

Very true.......the food in an London Thai restaurant bears no relation to 'real' Thai food  (certainly not Isan/Laos food for sure).

 

I have slowly gravitated to a very limited number of Thai dishes when eating out, but tend to survive off salad and chips at home.........sad?

Correct the same as Chinese food in the UK Or Oz bears no resemblance to authentic Chinese food in Hong Kong.

[Whale]

Many of you should thank your wallets that you do not live in central Bangkok. The cost in most of centrally located supers is astronomical. Its cheaper for me to order from a restaurant than to buy the meals components in many cases. I have taken to buying from the street stalls set up for morning Thai commuting workers and freezing it to cut costs. I like basic Thai food but not everyday. 

 

I find Villa to be the biggest robber baron by far, Tops is cheaper but still expensive comparatively, Fuji has good fish and fruit but again expensive and foodland is cheap but the veggies and fresh are such terrible quality.

 

 

Edited March 5, 2022 by Whale

[sandyf]

23 hours ago, KannikaP said:

What about prices then?

Fairly obvious, hotels being labour intensive are about the worst affected.

[sandyf]

23 hours ago, SunsetT said:

That is a factor that I had not considered. Thank you for expanding my narrow mind!!!

Apologies, you were a case of collateral damage from the constant whinging on this forum.

[Will B Good]

1 minute ago, sandyf said:

Apologies, you were a case of collateral damage from the constant whinging on this forum.

You're not Russian are you?

[Camillof]

Effects of a monopolized consumer market

 

Last month I took this video in the fresh food section of my local Lotus. It was a Friday afternoon at around 5:30 pm. You can count more sales staff than customers, including at least four idle department heads (three of them sitting around a table, a fourth one walking nearby, last person seen in the video).

 

In the past, when still Tesco-Lotus, that was the start of happy hour on unsold items and the store used to get crowded with customers in quest of good deals, both Thais and non-Thais. At times, it was difficult to pass through with your shopping cart.

 

In short, the new management chased people away by:

- Reducing drastically the choice of fresh items on display (bakery, ready-made dishes, etc.). A process that, to be honest, had already started with Tesco-Lotus years ago, now quickly worsened to the point of wondering why don't they just close those sections for good

- Reducing drastically the discount on the few unsold items ("few" not because they managed to sell them at the regular price, but because they have almost nothing on sale to start with)

 

On the other hand, they considered it relevant to install a mini cafeteria with tables to consume "luxury" ready-made meals on the spot, maybe just for the sake of aping the more prestigious supermarket chains. From what I can see each time I go there, those tables are deserted most of the time, or being used by their own staff.

 

Situation at my local Big C not much different although it hasn't deteriorated to that point yet. Luckily no internal mini cafeteria there until now.

 

My personal conclusion: just let Lidl or Aldi or the alike come in, and we'll see how long those idle department heads will keep their job at our expenses, how long those useless mini cafeterias will hold.

 

Edited March 5, 2022 by Camillof

[stelen123]

Hello all,

 

Located in CM we have cold pressed apple juice available right now packing: 3 L bag in box, and 250ml glass bottles. Thai FDA approved, retail or wholesale available. More info pm me.

Regards,

[Marvest]

This is not a Thai supermarket problem.  It's not a Thai problem.  We are experiencing global inflation.  Thailand is still relatively less expensive than the high prices you moved from in your country with a highly developed economy. 

 

COVID disrupted supply chains and exposed concerns and vulnerabilities.  Inflation is the result of a less reliable global supply chain.  It will take time for the volume and efficiency to return.  At the same time, countries are trying to reduce their dependence on certain foreign goods.  The future supply chain will be different than the past.  This contributes to new inefficiencies that will have upward price pressure to be ironed out over time.  The Ukraine situation has caused oil to jump which temporarily adds to global inflation.

 

If you moved here to avoid higher prices in your home country, you have two things working against you; 1. global inflation, 2. Thailand's is becoming a late stage industrialized nation that will, along with many good things, increase the cost of living.

 

The solution?  Move to an economic area that is further behind in it's development -- like many of you did when you moved to Thailand years ago.

 

But if you believe inflation is truly encroaching on your standard of living there is another solution: borrow money at low fixed interest rates and buy depressed real assets.   Interest rates are low and the Bank of Thailand just announced they will keep rates low for several months.  

 

I know the mood of this forum is that property is a bad endeavor because it's depressed, rent is cheap, tourism is dead, etc.  What is the saying? "Buy low, sell high."  Guess what?, real property prices are low, inflation is high, and money is cheap.  

[Kwaibill]

On 3/4/2022 at 5:19 AM, CharlieH said:

Most noticeable I would say is the price to fill up the car.

The other thing I noticed was the difference in the number of people shopping at 5.30 pm!

Why you may ask at that time?

That's when all the "yellow labels" are made available from, these are  goods discounted down by 50%. for clearance due to date etc.

 

I don't like buying stuff like veggies from local farmers as there is no knowing what chemicals they have used on them..

 

Re: "chemicals on veggies", soak for a few minutes in baking soda solution ( tablespoon per four litres) and rinse well. Peel all peelable veggies.

I sincerely doubt the local farmers are doing something farang farmers don't. 

Also, you can buy many organic items these days. Organic here means no chemicals for at least five years, and pure water irrigation.

[CharlieH]

10 minutes ago, Kwaibill said:

Re: "chemicals on veggies", soak for a few minutes in baking soda solution ( tablespoon per four litres) and rinse well. Peel all peelable veggies.

I sincerely doubt the local farmers are doing something farang farmers don't. 

Also, you can buy many organic items these days. Organic here means no chemicals for at least five years, and pure water irrigation.

The fact that they use chemicals banned in other countries, Thailand was supposed to ban them but didn't. Also even if they were banned, they would still be in use under the counter. Living in an agricultural village and seeing what goes on outside my own gate is enough for me to stick to frozen imported (mostly).

 

Article

[Kwaibill]

On 3/4/2022 at 2:51 AM, Albert Zweistein said:

Today I bought in Europe 500 grams medium size carrots at € 0.59 or 22 bht.

 

@ pompchop : are carrots western food ?

I bought for 20 baht at local fresh market. Not sure what weight; maybe 1/2 kilo. They were pre-packed in a plastic bag.

[John Drake]

4 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Western food isn't any more expensive if you cook from basic ingredients.

I hardly ever eat Thai food, just don't like the taste.

 

Price rises .........

M&Ms, now 26bht a packet in BigC/7-11 ......... 21bht/packet in Makro, but you have to buy 6.

M&Ms in Thailand are made in China.  That's why "melts in your mouth, not in your hands" doesn't work here.

[John Drake]

4 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Thai cheese is horrible, just like Thai wine. It's like eating plasticine. They really need to import oenologists and cheese artisans to learn how to make both properly, but I suppose face gets in the way.

I buy Gouda imported from Holland. I pine for the days when I could eat a Top Paddock craft cheese made by an Austrian guy who emigrated to Australia. He was an artist with cheeses.

I just want my 1 lb block of Velveeta. 

[RafPinto]

I go to Lotus's, Big C, market etc.
Often I go to my local Lotus's in the evening and if there are some fruit or vegetables discounted on the table, I often get a few of them home.
Recently, I see thais looking not very welcoming when they see farangs also getting some discounted items.

They probably think that all farangs should not touch discounted items as they can afford to pay the full price.

 

I can but if I see some blueberries for 30Baht, i take them, why not.