Why Is Beer So Expensive In Thailand?

[chownah]

I don't drink much beer but many of my friends do and they have asked this question so I'm turning it over to you..............

[RamdomChances]

I think its something to do with the price

[jayenram]

Expensive!!

I'm currently paying Bht 300.00 per case for Archa. If I was in UK, I'd be paying over Bht 1,500.00 for the equivalent.

[Pink Mist]

Expensive!!

I'm currently paying Bht 300.00 per case for Archa. If I was in UK, I'd be paying over Bht 1,500.00 for the equivalent.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

so you are saying something is cheap Yorkie?

[duke69]

I don't drink much beer but many of my friends do and they have asked this question so I'm turning it over to you..............

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Local beer is not expensive, foreign beer made "under license" is not expensive (Heineken, Guinness, Beck's are all made in Asean -- Malaysia mainly but also Thailand).

Really imported beer like Kilkenny's yes they are a little bit more expensive than in Europe.

So it's untrue that beer is expensive.

Whiskey is expensive because of import duties (very high) and the impossibility to make it locally in Asia.

In Cambodia Whiskey is cheaper (a lot).

[RamdomChances]

I think the OP was on about "thai" whisky, Sang Som, MeaKong, Mungorng Tong ect. Which in comparison to "thai" beer is a lot cheaper. You can but in beer(archa, chang ect) for about 25 bhat a bottle, but when you think a bottle of sang som is 130 bhat and you can get Mungorn Tong (very simular to sang som) for 90 bhat a bottle it is comparativly cheaper to drink whiskey. (they are wholesale prices BTW).

[jayenram]

so you are saying something is cheap Yorkie?

     

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Where did I say it was cheap? I believe I intimated that beer was less expensive in Thailand.

[chownah]

As I said, I don't drink beer...but to clarify...my friends said that cheap beer in the US is about the same as cheap beer in Thailand which means that in Thailand drinking beer is expensive...relatively... So I guess the question I should have asked is..."why does cheap Thai beer in Thailand cost about the same as cheap American beer in America?"

[lampard10]

I don't drink much beer but many of my friends do and they have asked this question so I'm turning it over to you..............

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I know what you mean; 35p for a pint of 6.4% beer is way,way over the top. Just think in the U.K. you pay only 4.50p for the same item.

[meadish_sweetball]

I think the OP was on about "thai" whisky, Sang Som, MeaKong, Mungorng Tong ect. Which in comparison to "thai" beer is a lot cheaper. You can but in beer(archa, chang ect) for about 25 bhat a bottle, but when you think a bottle of sang som is 130 bhat and you can get Mungorn Tong (very simular to sang som) for 90 bhat a bottle it is comparativly cheaper to drink whiskey. (they are wholesale prices BTW).

My guess is beer is more expensive because it is still perceived as somewhat foreign and for that reason a bit more hi-so than local thai whisky.

And most Thais prefer whisky to beer - the drinking 'rituals' here revolve around whisky and not beer.

Whisky diluted with soda and water the Thai way makes you drunk slowly while still preserving the liquid balance in your body ok.

In contrast, drinking beer when it's really hot, without replenishing with water, will mess up your liquid balance hormones and cause you to get drunk much faster and piss out more liquid than is good for you, which leads to dehydration and possibly a worse hangover with headache in the morning.

Edited June 8, 2005 by meadish_sweetball

[bkkharry]

As I said, I don't drink beer...but to clarify...my friends said that cheap beer in the US is about the same as cheap beer in Thailand which means that in Thailand drinking beer is expensive...relatively...  So I guess the question I should have asked is..."why does cheap Thai beer in Thailand cost about the same as cheap American beer in America?"

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Define what cheap beer in America is.

[lampard10]

It's not only local brews that are cheaper as well.A lot of my ozzie customers say that my V.B.,Crown Lager & Coopers is cheaper in my pub than in a pub back home

[lampard10]

As I said, I don't drink beer...but to clarify...my friends said that cheap beer in the US is about the same as cheap beer in Thailand which means that in Thailand drinking beer is expensive...relatively...  So I guess the question I should have asked is..."why does cheap Thai beer in Thailand cost about the same as cheap American beer in America?"

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So based on a small Chang, a bottle of beer in America is only around 40 cents. That explains a lot to me about whats going on over there.

[Pink Mist]

small bottle heineken approx 70 baht=AUD$2.30

small bottle back in my local AUD$4.50

[LivinLOS]

I don't drink much beer but many of my friends do and they have asked this question so I'm turning it over to you..............

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Local beer is not expensive, foreign beer made "under license" is not expensive (Heineken, Guinness, Beck's are all made in Asean -- Malaysia mainly but also Thailand).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Am I missing out somehow.. I pay 150 baht a can and it doesnt matter if I buy 20 or more cans.. Thats from Macro cash and carry.. on tap its 250 a pint locally.. All the cxans have the import alchohol sticker / seal on them...

So can I get locally brewed Guinness ??

[cooL_guY_corY]

I don't drink much beer but many of my friends do and they have asked this question so I'm turning it over to you..............

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Local beer is not expensive, foreign beer made "under license" is not expensive (Heineken, Guinness, Beck's are all made in Asean -- Malaysia mainly but also Thailand).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Am I missing out somehow.. I pay 150 baht a can and it doesnt matter if I buy 20 or more cans.. Thats from Macro cash and carry.. on tap its 250 a pint locally.. All the cxans have the import alchohol sticker / seal on them...

So can I get locally brewed Guinness ??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i am like 99% sure Guinness is not under license to be brewed anywhere in AESAN

[lampard10]

I don't drink much beer but many of my friends do and they have asked this question so I'm turning it over to you..............

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Local beer is not expensive, foreign beer made "under license" is not expensive (Heineken, Guinness, Beck's are all made in Asean -- Malaysia mainly but also Thailand).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Am I missing out somehow.. I pay 150 baht a can and it doesnt matter if I buy 20 or more cans.. Thats from Macro cash and carry.. on tap its 250 a pint locally.. All the cxans have the import alchohol sticker / seal on them...

So can I get locally brewed Guinness ??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Most of the Draught Guinness here is brewed in Malaysia. Draught cans come from Dublin. Not sure they know what a widget is in this part of the World.

[jayenram]

Most of the Draught Guinness here is brewed in Malaysia.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Right. It's brewed under licence by the Anchor Brewery in Sha Alam (just down the road from the largest Mosque in Malaysia). I remember once going on a visit to the brewery but cannot quite recall coming home.

[Dragonman]

It is so refreshing to see the Malaysian financial elite, primarily muslim, making large profits out of alcohol. Anyone know what the koran has to say about this

[devildog683]

As I said, I don't drink beer...but to clarify...my friends said that cheap beer in the US is about the same as cheap beer in Thailand which means that in Thailand drinking beer is expensive...relatively...  So I guess the question I should have asked is..."why does cheap Thai beer in Thailand cost about the same as cheap American beer in America?"

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

a cheap beer in thailand for me is Chang at 30 baht for a 32oz (roughly 75cents).

a cheap 40oz where i am from is about $1.25, so its 50 more cents for the extra 8oz.

i sure it varies from place to place though

[daveAustin]

Beer is an absolute rip-off in Thailand...relatively. Think about it - the Thai minimum wage is about 150-200 baht, doctors earn about 20,000 per month? or 600-odd baht a day. If he buys one bottle of beer (Singha or Heineken) that's 10% of his daily wage and about a third of the minimum wage-earners' daily wage. Compared with the price of an average meal (not hi-so eateries) about 20-30 baht, an average beer is double this. If a beer was double the price of a meal in the UK, you'd be looking at a tenner or twenty quid a beer...relatively. Also, isn't beer taxed to the hilt here?

ps - Malasian-brewed Guinness is &lt;deleted&gt;!

[jayenram]

ps - Malasian-brewed Guinness is &lt;deleted&gt;!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree that it doesn't hold a candle to the real McCoy but I think to use the word &lt;deleted&gt; is wrong. Especially when living off a diet of Chang, Archa, Leo, Singha, etc.

[Dragonman]

Perhaps dave means Shiite!

[lampard10]

Beer is an absolute rip-off in Thailand...relatively. Think about it - the Thai minimum wage is about 150-200 baht, doctors earn about 20,000 per month? or 600-odd baht a day. If he buys one bottle of beer (Singha or Heineken) that's 10% of his daily wage and about a third of the minimum wage-earners' daily wage. Compared with the price of an average meal (not hi-so eateries) about 20-30 baht, an average beer is double this. If a beer was double the price of a meal in the UK, you'd be looking at a tenner or twenty quid a beer...relatively. Also, isn't beer taxed to the hilt here?

ps - Malasian-brewed Guinness is &lt;deleted&gt;!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

When I was an Aircraft Contractor, we used to call wages ' Beer tokens' so in some where like Sweden, we were only on about 2 beers an hour, yet in Germany our wages shot up to 15 beers an hour.

Wages for Aircraft workers, the list.

UK.................................6-8 beers an hour

Germany........................14-16 beers an hour

Sweden...........................2-3 beers an hour

Israel..............................4-5 beers an hour

France.............................8-10 beers an hour

US..................................8-10 beers an hour

[devildog683]

Beer is an absolute rip-off in Thailand...relatively. Think about it - the Thai minimum wage is about 150-200 baht, doctors earn about 20,000 per month? or 600-odd baht a day. If he buys one bottle of beer (Singha or Heineken) that's 10% of his daily wage and about a third of the minimum wage-earners' daily wage. Compared with the price of an average meal (not hi-so eateries) about 20-30 baht, an average beer is double this. If a beer was double the price of a meal in the UK, you'd be looking at a tenner or twenty quid a beer...relatively. Also, isn't beer taxed to the hilt here?

ps - Malasian-brewed Guinness is &lt;deleted&gt;!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

dont forget about the thai/farang differences when it comes to prices. my wife can go to the local village store and if i am not with her, she ets things for almost half of what she does if i am with her

[jayenram]

Wages for Aircraft workers, the list.

UK.................................6-8 beers an hour

Germany........................14-16 beers an hour

Sweden...........................2-3 beers an hour

Israel..............................4-5 beers an hour

France.............................8-10 beers an hour

US..................................8-10 beers an hour

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And in Thailand?

80 beers an hour?

[Pink Mist]

Speaking of beer, my EG is down big C, so shall I sneak one??

[Dragonman]

Currently selling large Archa beer at 300 baht for 2 cases in my local Department Store

[jayenram]

Speaking of beer, my EG is down big C, so shall I sneak one??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Get one down yer neck Blonco. It's well after beer time in Adelaide. Or have you adapted to the time difference already?

[Pink Mist]

Speaking of beer, my EG is down big C, so shall I sneak one??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Get one down yer neck Blonco. It's well after beer time in Adelaide. Or have you adapted to the time difference already?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

start Adelaide time and finish LOS time