Grocery Prices In Bangkok Spiraling Upward

[Mid]

There is apparently competition for land to grow grain for food and for bio diesel - funny I didn't think biodiesel was that big a thing.

this argument needs a whole thread to itself - its not just land competition ,its the price paid for grain - bio diesel can pay more

couldn't agree more ..........

here's an article to kick it off .

The End of Cheap Food

September 2007

Fuel for food: a mix-up in priorities is starving the global poor

By Gwynne Dyer

egypttoday.com

backed up with this .............

Soaring wheat, oil prices spark global inflation fears

PM - Wednesday, 12 September , 2007

Reporter: Stephen Long

abc.net.au

[think_too_mut]

The price of milk here is on a par with that in the UK where labour costs are much higher.

Is there any significant dairy production in Thailand? Milk could be coming from somewhere else, mostly.

[samran]

I just about fell out of my chair when I saw the previous poster's one week grocery budget (3,100 baht). That's mine for one month (and I'm gaining weight!).

haha

That feeds my wife and myself, and all the nappy and baby food needs of our little one. Fresh meats, veggies, fish and dairy. Loads of nappies and toiletries. We've come full circle over the space of 7 years, from being native to having it as it would be back home.

About twice a week thoough we'll the local issan food (larp and naam tok) and the other night crispy pork noodles. Given we have an early rising little one, we are more likely to eat out at a good cafe for breakfast rather than go out to dinner.

As far as it goes for us, an extermely nice and comfortable balance.

[The Dude]

The Dude can dig that Foodland is the place to pick up groceries. Stay away from Tops, Tesco, Big C and carre four. Villa is diggable for specialty items, diggable with a shovel too

[RHCP]

The price of milk here is on a par with that in the UK where labour costs are much higher.

Is there any significant dairy production in Thailand? Milk could be coming from somewhere else, mostly.

I might be wrong but I think most if not all milk is produced locally but not in any great quantity as it has never been a major part of the diet of Thais.

[toptuan]

We've come full circle over the space of 7 years, from being native to having it as it would be back home.

Interesting observation.

After likewise "going native" the first 3-4 years, I find western things slowly creeping back into my grocery list of "must-haves," such as peanut butter, gourmet British tea, oatmeal, etc. Do you think this is the way we all go eventually?

[popshirt]

We've come full circle over the space of 7 years, from being native to having it as it would be back home.

Interesting observation.

After likewise "going native" the first 3-4 years, I find western things slowly creeping back into my grocery list of "must-haves," such as peanut butter, gourmet British tea, oatmeal, etc. Do you think this is the way we all go eventually?

Yes, I think so. I have observed that amongst my friends who have been here more than a few years, myself included.

One thing I cannot tolerate is the taste of fish sauce, so that limits my Thai food intake to some extent.

I am now in the US on some unavoidable business for a few weeks and I am horrified at the high food prices here. I have only been away for a year this time but it I would guess that some prices have risen by 50% over a year ago, in particular vegetables and fruit (even here in California where it is still summer), which I mostly live on, and which are relatively inexpensive in Thailand.

But the longer I live in LOS, the more I seem to be enjoying western food. Mea culpa, can't help it!

[FarangNoi21]

grocery store prices have gotten more expensive, especially vegetables. i think its 25 baht for a pack of green onion or something silly. i am sure the local ga-pow man buys his for a fraction of that.

[Jingthing]

Yeah, the US versus Thailand, some things more expensive, some things less. I do think we are being taken to the cleaners on imports though here. I like fish sauce and did a lot of Asian cooking when I lived in Calofornia. I would go to Vietnamese markets and get everything cheaper there, meat, vegetables, imported Asian stuff. I remember some of the Thai stuff like rice noodles was about as cheap in California as here. Some exceptions, like a fresh durian when you could get it was 1000 baht.

[thaigene2]

Wow - as the OP I never expected this kind of mass response.

Anyway, I also look forward to WAERTH's Website.

I'd say in summary that most - though by no means all - agree there is a jump in grocery costs that is extraordinary to inflation. But can someone provide some real evidence about the jump in grocery prices vis-a-vis underlying inflation raters (including fuel) for Thailand?

BTW - I agree Foodland is the best of the best (need more of them actually!). Villa always over-priced, Tesco/BigC but are OK for the 'big shops' one must do each week or two, but still overpriced - and creeping up - and Tops becoming like 7-11's but with the odd lost-leader sales that draws us in through convenience?

TG2

[thaigene2]

We've come full circle over the space of 7 years, from being native to having it as it would be back home.

Interesting observation.

After likewise "going native" the first 3-4 years, I find western things slowly creeping back into my grocery list of "must-haves," such as peanut butter, gourmet British tea, oatmeal, etc. Do you think this is the way we all go eventually?

Live here about the same time as you.

Think the blinders come off after awhile...and you stop trying to prove that you can and must adapt. You can of course and you do - but after some time you also remember who you are, what you like, and you become more confident by the other options available -I still like Thai food and eat it regularly. But to me it's about options..the 'spice' of life. Tonight I ate pork with pepper sauce, broccoli fried potato and apple sauce (with some red wine) that I cooked myself - but for lunch I had Thai noodles with chicken in Thai gravy. "Fusion" the cool hi-so's would call it now....I'd just call it variety.

But no, I'm not - anytime soon - going to be buying a deep-fried-but-now-cold fried fish on the soi head-and-all or a bowl of noodles with the fish-balls-baking-in-the-sun for hours on end dipped for 10 seconds in luke-warm water!

Those that do and think you're really livin' the Thai life, may I direct you to the nearest Immodium dealer? Hey it's cheap too!

[toptuan]

Tonight I ate pork with pepper sauce, broccoli fried potato and apple sauce (with some red wine) that I cooked myself

Whoah Dude! I'll be right over for dinner!

[toptuan]

Tonight I ate pork with pepper sauce, broccoli fried potato and apple sauce (with some red wine) that I cooked myself

Whoah Dude! I'll be right over for dinner!

I'm having homecooked chilli tonight which I slaved over last night. It needs to be kept for several hours preferably in the fridge to let all the flavours combine properly after cooking is completed or I would have eaten it already. I will serve with olive oil fried mashed potato, rice, nachos and garnish with sour cream sprinkled with chopped spring onion.

what a small life you must live here in thailand with no friends and just spending your weekend cooking for yourself

Whoah Dude! (again). Did we wake up on the wrong side of the bed this Saturday morning? What a judgmental post!

You don't know that this person might have a husband and three kids. Maybe their hobby and personal outlet is gourmet cooking (while yours is riding your Harley in the bike club? Tatoos and all?)

Maybe they're going to invite over the Thai neighbors to get a taste of the West. You don't know.

Some of your posts in other forums are quite revealing about your character and attitude towards others on this forum....

"...to you plus, you must be some kind of moron to want to defend this..."

"...in bkk you see many muppets wearing their lovely yellow shirts on a monday...conform to the madness of state propaganda..."

"...you two guys are just ranting like rabbid soi dogs overly frustrated in your small lives in los..."

"...OMG you rant like a guy looking to jump of[f] a balcony..."

"...are you taking the correct medication...? ...you have to be some sort of moron to think..."

"...so why dont you mention this in your posts, instead of sticking your head up the millitarys behind..."

"...you should know, you live in pattaya...who needs intelligence or education to live in that city..."

I think the unwritten purpose of this forum is to build each other up, not tear each other down. If you can only do the latter, best to keep your thoughts private. I predict a short life-span for your career on TV.

Edited October 6, 2007 by toptuan

[londonthai]

You sound like you yourself are lactose intolerant. I love my milk. Drunk a pint a day since as far back as I can remember. Delicious. Instead of a pint of milk a day eat a can of mackerel a day??? Yeah right!

soya milk, often enriched with vitamin D - a pint will give you all the daily reccommended those of vit D as well as proteins.

cows milk is OK for children but later during our lifes our digestive system doesn't have a necessary enzymes to properly process milk and it becomes a burden for us - that's on top of being intolerant to lactose and not knowing about it, as many of us are unaware of it.

milk, as all animal products, will have cholesterol and all the medicines and hormones which are given to cows to produce more milk.

[JetsetBkk]

One thing I cannot tolerate is the taste of fish sauce, so that limits my Thai food intake to some extent.

Same here.

[thaigene2]

Tonight I ate pork with pepper sauce, broccoli fried potato and apple sauce (with some red wine) that I cooked myself

Whoah Dude! I'll be right over for dinner!

I'm having homecooked chilli tonight which I slaved over last night. It needs to be kept for several hours preferably in the fridge to let all the flavours combine properly after cooking is completed or I would have eaten it already. I will serve with olive oil fried mashed potato, rice, nachos and garnish with sour cream sprinkled with chopped spring onion.

what a small life you must live here in thailand with no friends and just spending your weekend cooking for yourself

Well now Hampstead, you see what happens when you let pedigree get in the way of logical thinking? And here we were - all ready to invite you over for dinner - but you spoiled it.

(Hey - I would have have even deleted pork from the menu if that would make you more at home/comfortable in my humble surrounds.)

Yes, my life is small - but satisfying - cause it's real. No bullshit...and lots of friends. Meritocracy - in the land of smiles - not a contradiction - a lifestyle. Can you survive like that?

[exexpat]

Prices are a complicated thing...

I know for example in USA, I can get soy milk cheaper than in Bangkok, when on sale or at the Chinese mart everyday, but I need a car to haul it home.

Thailand is one of those countries which, has high import duties from everywhere, including Japan, USA, China, etc.  So I can find a 10 pack of blank DVD's for half the price in Taipei that i find in Bangkok, a yakisoba for 1/3 the cost in LA.

Plus China is roaring now, and has a major pork shortage.  So pork is way up, as well as pork fat.  No surprise.  Also, China is probably the cheapest supplier for many things like apples, veggies, etc, so those going up is no big suprise either.

Since the euro/aussie/looney/pound is way up, any imported items from those nations should have increased.

Labor costs and oil prices up too...so no suprise there...

Thailand's infrastructure and efficiency sucks, so despite the US making far more money, wholesale food prices are comparable or even lower than Thailand.  (Of course restaurants are still far cheaper in thailand)   That is not really unexpected as economies of scale win out over small labor intensive ones...and the idea of "produce more with less" is lost on the Thais.  They only understand "conservation"...so when Thai baht rises quickly, you pay more for the extra labor...as a trade off for the employee-less stores and long queues you have in the states.

Poor nations don't mean cheap prices, often it means high prices. Luanda, Angola for one barely has roads after 2 decades of civil war. But expats have to pay 10,000 usd a month for a western style place, cuz there is a very small pool and severe shortage of quality apts...

China though despite having massive labor pool...is run by engineers. So they understand efficiency perfectly. In no

time, Thailand will be left in the dust.

Edited October 8, 2007 by exexpat

[TimTang]

This is just a little warning about shopping at Villa.

One of the most fundamental rules in trade is, if you buy a larger quantity the price goes down. This rule is so common that we take it for granted an some times don't bother checking if it's the case.

At Villa a can of Chang beer is 21 baht (which is already 2.5 baht higher than the norm). If you buy a 24 pack you would assume it would be cheaper per can given the above rule, but get out the calculator and check this out. A 24 is 528 baht divide that by 24 and you get 22. So they actually contradict the rule. The same 24 costs 418 at Tops, which as you can see is 110 baht less.

I don't know if they do this on all products but I would check before buying anything in bulk thinking that your saving money.

[londonthai]

in the western supermarkets all products are marked not only for price but as well how much per liter/killogram so it's easy to compare what saving you make on buying in bulk. Sometimes the difference is very small but you might find 33% or even 50% discounts when buying in bulk, which is a substantial saving.

as to foreign foods in thailand or thai foods abroad - as export items they are the better quality than the locally sold and they are considered usually as luxury items, not essential in the contry importing them. On top of taxes - costs of shipping thousands of km and extended chain from the producer (farmer) to the consumer.

[bingobongo]

ah yes, global inflation rearing its ugly head........US/European/Asian stocks hit new highs, oil at $81 per barrel, gold at $740 an ounce, wheat per bushel at new all time high.......and yes inflation is affecting food prices (milk in the US, pork in China, pasta in Italy, and som tham in Thailand)

Oct 31, the US Federal Reserve will convene and it is antipated that bubbles Bernake will again lower the US Fed Funds rate, thereby weakening the greenback some more (and strnegtehrning the baht) so food inflation will continue to worsen

Edited October 8, 2007 by bingobongo

[mart29]

thailand is basically more expensive than the uk now. looking around tescos in thailand and tescos in the uk, the uk is on average cheaper. probably could get it cheaper somewhere else but even so. depends what products you are looking at though.

[tracer5050]

I usally shop at Big C you have to eat more thai brands but not bad, and the meat is a lot cheaper than villa. I am ok with it.

[nidge]

I say if milk prices bother you, stop drinking milk. Get your calcium from other sources 'cuz that's all milk is good for anyway. It's a poor source of protein and other than the bacteria and chemical runoff included in it, it's mostly just water. It's also bad for your digestion if you are lactose intolerant, which many people are. Notice how drinking cow's milk is a non-Thai, western-introduced activity? It's not natural.

Get your calcium from canned fish like mackerel, instead, and just skip milk altogether. Much better.

You sound like you yourself are lactose intolerant.

I love my milk. Drunk a pint a day since as far back as I can remember. Delicious.

Instead of a pint of milk a day eat a can of mackerel a day??? Yeah right!

My only real western indulgence is 2 cups of good quality strong coffee in the morning. Real full fat milk is the only milk that i would consider. Using coffeemate, soya milk or a can of makerel would ruin it.

[nick2k]

if you are worried about the cost of food, move to canada. I hear that they offer free food, free medical care, and free education to anyone who lives there.

you don't even have to be a legal citizen to get these benefits either.

all the illegal aliens who are being forced out of the usa are going to canada now.

imagine... free cheese and free milk.

[percy2]

Since the euro/aussie/looney/pound is way up, any imported items from those nations should have increased.

How many Looney's do you get to the pound?

(or is th plural Loonies)

Cheers

[englishoak]

thailand is basically more expensive than the uk now. looking around tescos in thailand and tescos in the uk, the uk is on average cheaper. probably could get it cheaper somewhere else but even so. depends what products you are looking at though.

Sadly agree Certainly in BKK comparing Tesco Lotus and UK. I live cheaper in the UK for weekly shopping, if I go to makro for bulk buy it's seriously cheaper in UK . Eg: milk in UK 98p for 2l = 65bht. Although going out to eat is still wayyy cheaper in LOS

As far as alcohol goes, only the local spirits are cheaper, and that gap is closing fast. You can now buy cheap spirits in UK for about £6 for 75 cl I can get a beer for £1.50 in my local pub and buy one for about 50p when in crates.

As for other things like electrical it's always been better in the UK. If you want to buy a car it depends on the make of course but if it's not japanese it will certainly be cheaper in the UK. Second hand cars will all be cheaper in UK. Bikes are similar price.

The local buses BKK are now 10 bht whereas 4 years ago they were 3bht

Gas electric & water are a little bit more in the UK

All services are still way way cheaper in LOS

Medical services free , quality schooling , parks & nature reserves free in UK

Houshold items plates, pictures,lamps etc can be purchased at similar price if you don't go brand name. Same thing with clothes.

Every business seems to have a perpetual sale on in the UK and as far as iv'e noticed the cheap rubbish here is about as good as the medium price stuff there. There is also the customer service thing in the UK along with the return policy.

In fact I would say in the last 10 years the cost of daily living for me has gone down by about 50% in UK. In Thailand they have gone up about 50%

Conclusion

I can live as cheaply in the UK by trying hard as I do in Thailand without thinking about it. The difference is the effort to do so.

Having said all the above I prefer living in Thailand no question. It is a concern though that given 10 years ago it was roughly 3 X cheaper in LOS, may be in 10 years it will reverse. As other posters have said, it can be mighty expensive in some of the less developed countries and I hope Thailand keeps up.

[gregb]

How about a topic comparing food prices in Bangkok for most staple items?

OK, start with this one. Just went to purchase butter at Lotus. Last month, 39 baht. This month 47 baht!

This isn't a farang food, and while it isn't necessarily a Thai staple like rice, it is quite common.

One thing that is influencing this is the cost of dairy products overseas. The ethanol craze due to increasing oil prices is pushing up the price of corn, which is pushing up the price of cattle feed and in turn of all dairy products worldwide. That gives the Thai producers more incentive to export their products instead of selling into the local market. Surprisingly, UHT milk has not yet been affected by this based on my recent sales receipts, but I suspect it is only a matter of time before it works its way through the price chain.

Please also keep in mind that several products in Thailand are subject to price controls and need government approval to be raised. Just read in the BKK Post this morning that they are telling manufacturers not to ask for permission to raise prices. (Also read that Mama noodles have increased sales by 12% this year, which is a very strong indicator of slowing growth. People buy instant noodles when they're short on money.)

My opinion? This is normal inflation caused by increasing oil prices and declining supply. Oil permeates the market chains in ways that us mere mortals can't possibly understand. "Core inflation" is a manufactured number made by economists for political reasons, so I would ignore that 3% number. The real situation will be played out in the grocery stores over the next several years, and I would expect everything to rise pretty much in lock step with increasing oil prices.