Cheese - why so expensive?

[ravip]

I was just checking the price of Cheese and realised how extraorinarily expensive it is in Thailand compared to the USA. Is it all due to local taxes or what? Just for a comparison, I show below the price at Walmart and Lazada.

 

[Don Chance]

Thai's are lactose intolerant. No market for cheese or diary products. Notice those soya carts everywhere.

[Grumpy one]

Start adding up the cost of ALL the transport to get it here then add the taxes.

You think its all free

[Sigma6]

Plastic cheese is available all all supermarkets for a similar price to the US version.

Real cheese, on the other hand, is expensive.  Imported and relatively low demand.

 

That Lazada advert has no reviews for a reason.

This is from Lotusss'ss's

 

[JustAnotherHun]

It has to do with lactose intolerance and the relatively low demand. Real -imported! - cheese is highly taxed like other imported food.

Just look how much you pay here for italien Salami or apples from NZ. Cheese is not different.

BTW: Please don't call this Kraft-crap "cheese". It's junk.

If you want cheese, buy imported from France, Switzerland or Italy.

Edited June 2, 2023 by JustAnotherHun

[Mintyy]

11 minutes ago, Don Chance said:

Thai's are lactose intolerant. No market for cheese or diary products. Notice those soya carts everywhere.

Why don't they make cheese using coconut milk? The vegan cheese here is a joke.

[worgeordie]

You took an extreme example from Lazada , they also have

sellers of Heinz Beanz at over 600 Thb , when the real price

here is around a 100 Thb , 

 

regards Worgeordie

[n00dle]

31 minutes ago, ravip said:

I was just checking the price of Cheese and realised how extraorinarily expensive it is in Thailand compared to the USA. Is it all due to local taxes or what? Just for a comparison, I show below the price at Walmart and Lazada.

 

First of all, that is NOT cheese. 

Second, Lazada is not a fair indicator of the cost of imported foodstuffs, and the same product is available there for as low as 150 baht.

Finally, Impoted food comes with a serious markup.

Edited June 2, 2023 by n00dle

[n00dle]

5 minutes ago, Mintyy said:

vegan cheese is a joke

fixed that for ya.

[bignok]

Yoghurt is cheap. Have that.

[KhunLA]

OP, that's not cheese, just a cheese product.  Legally has to state that on package.

[GoFaster]

https://myfermentedlife.com/kefir-cheese/

I was buying the New Zealand Mainland Vintage cheese until I discovered Milk Kefir and now I make the tastiest cheese . 1 liter of milk makes about 450 grams of cheese that I process with a couple of Jalapenos and its awesome. Will never buy commercial again. I still have 1 kilo of the Mainland in the fridge untouched for 6 months now. Plus drinking Kefir every night before bed has dramatically improved my sleep in both quality and time asleep.

Edited June 2, 2023 by GoFaster
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[ed strong]

Lol that aint cheese!!

[greeneking]

16 minutes ago, Don Chance said:

Thai's are lactose intolerant. No market for cheese or diary products. Notice those soya carts everywhere.

I used to believe that.  Until I saw the milky coffees, the fridges full of mik and fruit milk and probiotic milk deliveries and all the varieties of yogurt, the cream cakes and of course all the pizza shops.

[Lacessit]

Imported cheese is expensive due to freight and taxes. Thai cheese is dreck.

The Kraft brand is not real Australian cheese. King Island and Gippsland are where decent cheese is made.

Edited June 2, 2023 by Lacessit

[KhunBENQ]

29 minutes ago, Sigma6 said:

Plastic cheese is available all all supermarkets for a similar price to the US version.

Correct. The example from the OP makes no sense. Plastic cheese is not imported and available everywhere.

What I call cheese (Swiss, French, Italian) is indeed expensive.

I am happy to find a noname Gruyere (Swiss) at Friendship Pattaya for 1100/kilo.

TOPS only has ridiculously expensive brand name product for 3500/kilo.

Just one example...

Fresh soft cheese at BigC has become crazy: a triangle of Brie (Casino) from about 170 to over 300 (for 200? gr). Most other soft cheeses are sealed plastic. Won't ripe to any taste.

 

Recently bought a stinky Esrom (Denmark) for a mate at Friendship for 1600/kilo.

And this type is very hard to find in Thailand.

 

Edited June 2, 2023 by KhunBENQ

[SAFETY FIRST]

That's not cheese. It's processed crap. 

 

OMG, I didn't think adults ate that stuff. 

 

Edited June 2, 2023 by SAFETY FIRST

[Mr Meeseeks]

Lot's of great cheeses at reasonable prices available at Siam Expat Foods and Siamburry's in Pattaya. 

[KhunBENQ]

Just now, Mr Meeseeks said:

Lot's of great cheeses at reasonable prices available at Siam Expat Foods and Siamburry's in Pattaya. 

Heard about and on the list for visit this month.

So far Friendship was hard to beat.

[scubascuba3]

i stopped eating cheese a few years ago, one because it's stupid expensive, two it's bad for you anyway

[SAFETY FIRST]

4 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

That's not cheese. It's processed crap. 

 

OMG, I didn't think adults ate that stuff. 

 

This is cheese 

 

 

[RichardColeman]

I dunno, if you want sliced soft cheese it's 2 slices for 19 baht in 711 - admittedly it helps if your not fancy on taste !

[champers]

Anybody seen Dairylea triangles?

[KhunBENQ]

29 minutes ago, JustAnotherHun said:

It has to do with lactose intolerance and the relatively low demand.

Both my ladies at the breakfast table have become tolerant

Daughter just stopped corn flakes with milk long ago.

Not sure why.

Edited June 2, 2023 by KhunBENQ

[JustAnotherHun]

2 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Both my ladies at the breakfast table have become tolerant

Same here :-).

There are still studies that in SEA-countries up to 97 percent of the adult population are intolerant. Newer studies doubt that. Me too.

 

Again to cheese:

In Pattaya in pre-covid times, a good place for imported cheese, salami, ham and fruit was the Central Food Store on Beach Road (run by Tops, I think). You got there excellent stuff from Europe, NZ and even Black Cod from Chile. Pricy, yes. But quality everywhere has it's price.

Since than choice and quality went down, but it's still one of the better places in town.

 

[anchadian]

This is real cheese currently on offer at Lotus's not the processed garbage.

https://www.lotuss.com/en/search/mainland?sort=relevance:DESC

[edwardandtubs]

30 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

 

What I call cheese (Swiss, French, Italian) is indeed expensive.

 

 

I agree with your sentiment but how could you exclude British cheese from that list? Stilton and mature cheddar are the best cheeses in the world. My strategy is to gorge on them when I'm back in the UK and then just put them out of my mind when I'm in Thailand.

Edited June 2, 2023 by edwardandtubs

[brewsterbudgen]

Decent cheese and halfway decent wine are just two things that have to be purchased, irrespective of the cost. I couldn't live without them.

[ChipButty]

Being English I like a bit of Stilton OMG have you seen the price of it here? 

[ChipButty]

1 minute ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Decent cheese and halfway decent wine are just two things that have to be purchased, irrespective of the cost. I couldn't live without them.

Stilton and a bottle of Port and throw in some grapes,