What does the average British expat think of Tommy?

[jaideeguy]

Seems with the big expat population that a food co-op would be an economical way to shop for those hard to get [and expensive] falang products. Cheese, flour, seeds, nuts, pasta etc.......

I have made orders with an American on line co-op that has great products and good prices http://www.frontiercoop.com/ but have had my orders carried over with visiting friends and relatives.

or maybe simply going with a local BKK wholesaler to aviod duties and to be able to buy in bulk.

Anyone interested????

[carlosacao]

Seems with the big expat population that a food co-op would be an economical way to shop for those hard to get [and expensive] falang products. Cheese, flour, seeds, nuts, pasta etc.......

I have made orders with an American on line co-op that has great products and good prices http://www.frontiercoop.com/ but have had my orders carried over with visiting friends and relatives.

or maybe simply going with a local BKK wholesaler to aviod duties and to be able to buy in bulk.

Anyone interested????

Interesting food for thought, I would also be interested, but one word of caution, It's not easy dealing with customs when it comes to importing stuff, I just brought a couple of containers and I had to pay bribes, etc, customs it's very corrupted and also, the Thai customs agents are often working together with the customs officer / police to get you for as much as they can. This would it have to be thought up very well. The idea it's good.

[shepsel]

How many people do you think that you would need to start a co-op? And how and where would you distribute the orders?

You would also have to find out what duty and tax rate is in advance, so that this could be incorporated into the price for the co-op members in advance, so that there are no surprises.

PM me if you need some ideas and help organizing it.

[jaideeguy]

Yes, I can see customs/duties being a nightmare, but maybe there are some importers/wholesalers that would let us 'tag along' on an order.....or simply buy from local sources in quantity at discount prices??

[cm das]

I'm interested for sure. Always belonged to the local co-op back in the states. I think going through a Thai importer would be the way to go - far less hassle.

[jaideeguy]

Well, let's try separately to connect with importers/wholesalers etc and keep this thread alive to share info and maybe meet at a central location to compare notes and share experience. CM das, you have experience in co-ops...great.

Another source of food in bulk is Makro.......where you can buy cheeses and butter in bulk at 1/3rd the price of smaller quanties.

[Jungian]

I am seriously interested.

[rrose070]

Me too...

[ricklev]

I wish I was wrong but I've noticed that all the farang supermarkets all over Thailand sell exactly the same products. I'm assuming that importation of food must be FDA approved and it's a bit of a process. I think, therefore, that most all imported food comes from a single importer/distributor with the means and connections to gain approval.

I had a friend that imported a container of Clamato juice into Pattaya for sale and distribution. What a nightmare that was!

[carlosacao]

I wish I was wrong but I've noticed that all the farang supermarkets all over Thailand sell exactly the same products. I'm assuming that importation of food must be FDA approved and it's a bit of a process. I think, therefore, that most all imported food comes from a single importer/distributor with the means and connections to gain approval.

I had a friend that imported a container of Clamato juice into Pattaya for sale and distribution. What a nightmare that was!

Very true and also, in order to get good pricing, you have to get quite a volume. Don't think that it would be easy to "tag along" into somebody else's container since by adding more items, that creates more complications / expenses with customs (customs agents recommend no more than 5 or 6 items per container). Also, many brands have their own operations set up in Thailand or exclusive distributors and would not allow the buying from somebody else in Thailand.

Good idea, but not easy to do and probably requires quite an investment.

[jaideeguy]

"Very true and also, in order to get good pricing, you have to get quite a volume."

Totally agree......especially when a small co-op of falangs try to jump thru the importing hoops, so why not work with the existing importers that are already set up and get wholesale prices on case lots.....not container lots?? Does anyone out there know who the major importers are?? and would they deal with a small falang co-op?? even Makro offers good deals on volume purchases....butter by 5 kilo block for 500+thb, Cheeses, seafood by the case etc...all the case prices are marked.

Maybe we [who are interested] should compose a list of our most needed/wanted items.

Mine would be cheese, butter, bread flours, nuts, red wine, to start off the list.

[rrose070]

Cheese, seafood, meats...

[carlosacao]

"Very true and also, in order to get good pricing, you have to get quite a volume."

Totally agree......especially when a small co-op of falangs try to jump thru the importing hoops, so why not work with the existing importers that are already set up and get wholesale prices on case lots.....not container lots??

That's the way to go, we have to see if the cost and overhead of the operation will not eat the savings of buying directly from the distributors, we need to have enough sales.

[earlofwindermere]

I have been doing research into co-operatives for work purposes. There are a lot of cooperatives in Thailand (called Sa ha gon) and there are well developed rules on it. From what I've read, foreigners cannot be members of cooperatives in this country.

[jaideeguy]

"I have been doing research into co-operatives for work purposes. There are a lot of cooperatives in Thailand (called Sa ha gon) and there are well developed rules on it. From what I've read, foreigners cannot be members of cooperatives in this country"

What about our Thai wives?? and, do the established Thai co-ops deal in any 'falang' products??

[earlofwindermere]

Jaideeguy

You should take a look at the government cooperatives website. Here is another link to a summary of the types of legal entities available in Thailand.. The legal entities are for microfinance projects but the rules about foreigner involvement remain constant in any cooperative.

As for your questions, I don't claim to be an expert but here's my take on what I've read...

1. If your spouse is a Thai, they could join a co-operative. However; if you are trying to start a co-op for farangs, your pool of potential members would be significantly smaller since not all of us are in this situation.

2. I have no idea if any Thai co-ops currently sell farang items. My opinion is that most don't as they are usually found in rural villages. In any case, if foreigners could not be members, there is much less incentive to actually buy at a co-op as you get none of the benefits (ie dividends). As a result, I would suspect that most foreigners would continue to buy their farang items at Kasem's, Rimping and Tops like we do now since it's usually more convenient.

For those who have never tried, Rimping is very good at ordering in items if you request it. We've asked for several items that were not previously found in Chiang Mai. Within a month or two of requesting them, we've found them on the shelves.

Edited March 15, 2009 by earlofwindermere

[Jungian]

I'm interested in everything that has been listed and Macro may not be a bad idea to begin. I agree the import prices are way out of line. Spam for example not that I ever ate it, (well maybe once) nor do I want to is 300฿ per can more than my cholesterol medicine, as I recall it was like 35฿ in the USA the other thing I had a laugh at was 130฿ Budweiser heck I wouldn't buy a 25 cent draft in the US when I lived there I'll be damned if I'll pay $4 for a bottle of swill! Cheese is a big thing though I don't understand why even the mass produces Kraft is so expensive.

[cm das]

There are co-ops and there are co-ops. I don't imagine that setting up a store-front, legally established co-op would make much sense for foreigners here, assuming it were even possible. I figure it's much pore practical to simply pool our purchasing power, order in bulk, and then share/rotate the practical jobs of dividing up the orders, organizing pick-up or delivery, etc. In order for it to really make sense, I think we'd have to start with a limited selection of popular items. Maybe some western restaurant owners could be contacted to find suppliers of cheese & other expensive, imported items?