Can we still afford to shop at Thai supermarkets?

[roo860]

1 hour ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

Have you considered the fact that you have no values?

 

I am in a similar position to you, but probably richer, but if I see a a pack of 5 Beng Beng in 7-11 for 26 Baht but singles priced at 5 Baht - I will buy 5 singles. That is because I am aware of pricing, I find it interesting to be aware of pricing and I will always look for value.

????????

[BritManToo]

19 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

the problem in Thailand remains lack of competition....too many stores selling stuff at exactly the same prices.

Check out Lazada for your cereal, imported items are often much cheaper than Thai supermarkets.

[Will B Good]

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

Cheap as chips still relevant.

I buy my chips frozen from Makro, the price varies 99bht/2Kg-135bht/2Kg.

Same product & manufacturer, huge price swings, been like this the past 7 years.

When it's 99bht/2Kg, I fill up the freezer, when it's 135bht/2Kg I wait ............

 

Me and my boy eat chips nearly every day!

Mouth is watering.....can't remember the last time ate chips....... 'proper chips' done in beef dripping....... must have been decades ago.

[Lacessit]

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Cheap as chips still relevant.

I buy my chips frozen from Makro, the price varies 99bht/2Kg-135bht/2Kg.

Same product & manufacturer, huge price swings, been like this the past 7 years.

When it's 99bht/2Kg, I fill up the freezer, when it's 135bht/2Kg I wait ............

 

Me and my boy eat chips nearly every day!

I'm lazy, I buy Pringles.

[BritManToo]

21 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

For 35 THB a bag you can't make it yourself

Would need to disagree, I can make many items sold at 35bht for 10bht.

Cakes, biscuits, bread, pancakes, tortillas, curry, toffee all being much cheaper to bake myself.

[jonclark]

There have been some daft topics discussed on TVF /AN but this one is right up there with some of the daftest. To be clear we are discussing if we have enough money to be able to buy food from a supermarket right? 

 

[Eloquent pilgrim]

8 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Strawberries and avocados are in season in Chiang Rai as I write, in the local market and on the street stalls. 80 baht a punnet, 50 baht a kilo respectively. Very tasty.

I buy fruit and vegetables in season, when the prices come down. I can't remember the last time I bought them in a supermarket, way more expensive and no better in quality.

Thanks for your very helpful comment, I’ll jump in the car and drive up and get some, I’m only 997 kilometres away; and I only eat Haas avocados, which are not grown in Thailand.

 

And are McVities digestive biscuits in season in Chiang Rai

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[BritManToo]

2 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

Mouth is watering.....can't remember the last time ate chips....... 'proper chips' done in beef dripping....... must have been decades ago.

All mine are cooked in the air fryer .......... only healthy chips for us 555!

 

[SunsetT]

Add in the Thai supermarket monopoly factor which, unlike in the West, removes competition  and we stand no chance!

 

The high pricing is clear when I shop in the few small independent Thai owned supermarkets where I stay, where most items are not just 1 or 2thb cheaper but 5/10/20 thb cheaper than in the large national chain supermarkets. With the power of bulk buying the opposite should be true as it is in the West.

[Will B Good]

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

All mine are cooked in the air fryer .......... only healthy chips for us 555!

 

To die for.......

[userabcd]

Everyone can still afford to shop at Thai supermarkets.

 

If somethings rise in price in one market then govt expects that one would make extra effort to shop around in another place to get the items at the same price or to do without.....hence limited rise in inflation.

 

Notice the croissants in Big C have reduced in size.

[bang saen guy]

4 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Would need to disagree, I can make many items sold at 35bht for 10bht.

Cakes, biscuits, bread, pancakes, tortillas, curry, toffee all being much cheaper to bake myself.

Corn tortillas or flour? Tried to make corn tortillas and made a mess

[BritManToo]

2 minutes ago, jonclark said:

There have been some daft topics discussed on TVF /AN but this one is right up there with some of the daftest. To be clear we are discussing if we have enough money to be able to buy food from a supermarket right? 

 

Supermarkets in the UK are bargain shopping.

Supermarkets in Thailand are luxury shopping.

 

Many foreigners never discover the difference.

But most supermarket items are half the price online or in local markets.

[Nicholas Paul KNIGHT]

Oh dear Michael another farang debating how expensive it is getting, a fw days/weeks ago we had one bemoaning the fact the UK pension did not go up. It is amazing just how silly these p[;osts are. We vall know things are getting expensive , but as with everything else in life, you adjust and plan, decide on other foods etc. Do you feel good showing people you are a complete numpty. I really wonder why people POST this stuff.

Micheal have a good day spending time energy and money rushing around trying to buy the best for the least. Me I will drink two less drinks, cut down on overpriced tat and chill. 

[jomtienisgood]

6 hours ago, 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 was going to reply almost the same, in Makro Pattaya carrots are 29Thb / Kg??? The ones OP is mentioning must be very large medium size.....

[superal]

4 hours ago, 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..

 

Well , many of the vegetables in Thai supermarkets come from China . Hate to think what chemicals or other stuff that they use . Certainly not disclosed or controlled .  Most locally grown veg is labour intensive in Thailand and will almost certainly use some form of fertiliser , however what is a concern are the farmers who take tanker loads of untreated excrement taken from domestic cesspits and spread it over their land and then plant on it . That can cause serious health problems to the end user , especially salad items that are not cooked . Small time growers are much safer and cheaper and their profit margins are lower so normally cheaper to buy .

[userabcd]

4 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

All mine are cooked in the air fryer .......... only healthy chips for us 555!

 

No green and yellow healthy products on that plate.

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, bang saen guy said:

Corn tortillas or flour? Tried to make corn tortillas and made a mess

I just use all purpose flour ....... really I can't tell the difference in taste.

 

[Will B Good]

2 minutes ago, Nicholas Paul KNIGHT said:

Oh dear Michael another farang debating how expensive it is getting, a fw days/weeks ago we had one bemoaning the fact the UK pension did not go up. It is amazing just how silly these p[;osts are. We vall know things are getting expensive , but as with everything else in life, you adjust and plan, decide on other foods etc. Do you feel good showing people you are a complete numpty. I really wonder why people POST this stuff.

Micheal have a good day spending time energy and money rushing around trying to buy the best for the least. Me I will drink two less drinks, cut down on overpriced tat and chill. 

555....how to win friends and influence people

[KannikaP]

4 hours ago, CharlieH said:

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

And who supplies the 'falang' supermarkets?

[userabcd]

3 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Supermarkets in the UK are bargain shopping.

Supermarkets in Thailand are luxury shopping.

 

Many foreigners never discover the difference.

But most supermarket items are half the price online or in local markets.

"But most supermarket items are half the price online or in local markets"

 

Really In Thailand?

[Will B Good]

1 minute ago, userabcd said:

No green and yellow healthy products on that plate.

Have a friend, late 40's, seemingly healthy, won't even have green stuff on his plate let alone eat it????

[BritManToo]

3 minutes ago, Nicholas Paul KNIGHT said:

Me I will drink two less drinks,

That ain't an option in my life!

[CharlieH]

1 minute ago, KannikaP said:

And who supplies the 'falang' supermarkets?

I buy frozen imported mostly, the fresh I currently buy is from Australia (they claim) ????

[John Drake]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

For example, this week two medium-sized carrots were THB45 in a Pattaya supermarket and avocadoes THB90 each.

First they came for the avacados.

[BritManToo]

5 minutes ago, userabcd said:

"But most supermarket items are half the price online or in local markets"

Really In Thailand?

I've got a cupboard full of Typhoo tea bags .... 100bht a box on Lazada.

200bht a box for inferior Liptons in the supermarket.

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/typhoo-one-cup-tea-bags-100s-i2324482735-s7857115377.html

 

Bell peppers, 10bht for 4 large in my local market.

Fresh ginger, 10bht for 1/2Kg in my local market.

Try pricing those in Tesco/Rimping/Tops?

[Lacessit]

5 minutes ago, Eloquent pilgrim said:

Thanks for your very helpful comment, I’ll jump in the car and drive up and get some, I’m only 997 kilometres away; and I only eat Haas avocados, which are not grown in Thailand.

 

And are McVities digestive biscuits in season in Chiang Rai

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

There's a shop near the clock tower in Chiang Rai that sells sai ua, the Northern Thai herbal sausage. People drive up from Bangkok to load up with kilos of the stuff, there's usually at least one Merc, Beemer or minivan with Bangkok plates parked outside when I buy mine. The example has been set for you.

Haas avocados and McVities digestive biscuits? You remind me of a mate here who won't eat spaghetti or yoghurt, fussy eaters.

[sammieuk1]

Blatant profiteering abounds when you walk through the door of supermarkets with the non competition cartel that operates here ????

[userabcd]

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

I've got a cupboard full of Typhoo tea bags .... 100bht a box on Lazada.

200bht a box for inferior Liptons in the supermarket.

 

Bell peppers, 10bht for 4 large in my local market.

Fresh ginger, 10bht for 1/2Kg in my local market.

Try pricing those in Tesco/Rimping/Tops?

"

Bell peppers, 10bht for 4 large in my local market.

Fresh ginger, 10bht for 1/2Kg in my local market"

 

That is cheap. Bought a bell pepper the other day...35 baht for 1 and there were organic ones selling for 75 baht each.

[BritManToo]

7 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

Have a friend, late 40's, seemingly healthy, won't even have green stuff on his plate let alone eat it????

I did put lettuce (stolen from my rabbits) in my tuna sandwich yesterday.