Why Is Beer So Expensive In Thailand?

[Dragonman]

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}>

WOW! That's not much different from the price in my local bar, the Bulls Head in 33/1....I would be reviewing your suppliers prices with a view to getting it elsewhere...there MUST be someplace cheaper than that. Guinness have a big brewery in KL...so it's local...unless they really are importing it from Dublin of course...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I believe that although it may be local, Malaysia inflicts large export duties on alcohol produced there. Whilst enjoying the profits they want to appear not to encourage alcohol use, like a good muslim country!

[deepdiver]

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.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Where you buy a pint of 6,4% beer ?

[kayo]

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.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Where you buy a pint of 6,4% beer ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Try Belgium

[jackr]

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.

Where you buy a pint of 6,4% beer ?

Christ beer must have really gone up in the last two years. Who's paying £4.50 for a pint in the UK, or are we talking exclusive London bars and trendy cafes? I was last there in 2003 and thought £2.50 was a rip-off!

[alex100]

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}>

Only in Dublin

[Jockstar]

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).

Sangsom is actually a rum. It says it on the bottle. It doesnt even smell like whiskey. The only similaritiy is the colour. BEER expensive. Give me a break. Its ######ing cheap as chips here. Less than 50p for a 600ml bottle. Expensive? What planet are you on?

[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).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sangsom is actually a rum. It says it on the bottle. It doesnt even smell like whiskey. The only similaritiy is the colour. BEER expensive. Give me a break. Its ######ing cheap as chips here. Less than 50p for a 600ml bottle. Expensive? What planet are you on?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

yes mate you are right, thats why its in "quotes" as everyone calls Sang Som ect "thai" whiskey. I did'nt think that the op was trying to say that beer here is expensive, but why it is expensive compared to "whiskey". What do they make thai beer from anyway. I know "thai whiskey" is made from sugar cain which grows in abundance here.

[chownah]

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).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sangsom is actually a rum. It says it on the bottle. It doesnt even smell like whiskey. The only similaritiy is the colour. BEER expensive. Give me a break. Its ######ing cheap as chips here. Less than 50p for a 600ml bottle. Expensive? What planet are you on?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So what does a 600ml bottle of cheap bear cost back in Scotland..or wherever it is you are from?

Edited June 12, 2005 by chownah

[Welshman]

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).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sangsom is actually a rum. It says it on the bottle. It doesnt even smell like whiskey. The only similaritiy is the colour. BEER expensive. Give me a break. Its ######ing cheap as chips here. Less than 50p for a 600ml bottle. Expensive? What planet are you on?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So what does a 600ml bottle of cheap bear cost back in Scotland..or wherever it is you are from?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I generally buy my beer from either Tesco or Kwik Save. Mainly, I drink Skol which (I think) is quite a reasonable beer.

If you buy the 12 boxes from either of the above, you'd pay just over 6 pounds for 12 400 ml cans. Occasionally, Tesco or Kwik will have the 24 packs on offer usually at just under 10 pounds which works out at around 42 pence a can.

Tesco have their own brand which generally sells cheaper but wouldn't trust the taste.

Of course, if you insist on the 'designer label' stuff, the price goes up.

[newns.m]

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.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

At £4.50 a pint,Lampard,you must be drinking in the wrong places or you first name is FRANK!

Martin

[OlRedEyes]

Haven't been to the Uk much, last time I was there was in 84, spent a month in London. Went on a pub crawl with a group of locals one night soon after I arrived somewhere near Milton Keynes. There seemed to be a hellava lot of pubs, but couldn't find a fish'n chips shop or anything, so had nothing to eat. Think it was too late for the pubs to serve food.

Anyways, evreyone was drinking the piss from the draught tap, bitter I think? Real piss dunno about bitter, more like salty. I'm not a great beer drinker, never was, enjoy a decent beer but my limit is about 3-4 bottles. But that night I must've put away at least 10 pints on an empty stomach and never got really pissed.....

Had to stick to the german variety for the rest of my stay...

[Goldenbead]

I just got back from Singapore. Believe me, beer in Thailand is CHEAP!!!!

[STEALTH K3]

I noticed the price of the alcopops were very exspensive I just put it down to them being imported

[Buff-horns]

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}>

they charge what the local market will allow and to make a profit and keep the shareholders happy ? check the share prices and balance sheet to see how they are doing .

then you have the itermediary guys who ship the product nationwide ,they prolly do quite well on the deal and put on their markup .

then theres VAT ?

[Rinrada]

UK Pub Beer Prices

...from what price...UK

Was in "Wetherknives and forks" the other night and a pint of Carling Black was £1-29p however another "local"of mine not a minutes walk away charges £2-98 for Fosters and their premium is over £3-00

The Cost of beer in different UK locations

Most people like the odd drink or two down the local pub, but the variation in beer prices across the UK will probably suprise you! Generally speaking the further north you go the cheaper it gets, with London (as expected) being the most expensive for a pint of beer.

The tables below lists a number of UK places and how much a pint of beer and lager typically costs there.

For comparision purposes the lager prices will typically be a 4% lager, such as Fosters, Carlsberg, or Carling. A pint of bitter will be the brewers real ale.

Interestingly the price of beer in a free house pub is cheaper than the price of beer in a chain pub, but still far more expensive than the average pint of lager in Europe.

UK Pub Beer Prices

Cambridge Pub Chain £2.30 ale

Cambridge Free House pub £2.10 ale

Oxford Pub Chain £2.40 ale

Oxford Free House pub £2.20 ale

London Pub Chain £2.24 ale

London Most Expensive Pub £3.00 ale

North West England Any Pub £1.87 ale

Yorkshire Any Pub £1.88 ale

Yorkshire Cheapest Pub £1.09 ale

East Anglia Average Beer Price £2.15 ale

East Midlands Average Beer Price £1.99 ale

London Average Beer Price £2.24 ale

North Average Beer Price £1.94 ale

North West Average Beer Price £1.87 ale

Scotland Average Beer Price £2.12 ale

South East Average Beer Price £2.22 ale

South West Average Beer Price £2.11 ale

Wales Average Beer Price £1.96 ale

West Midlands Average Beer Price £1.97 ale

UK Average Average Beer Price £2.05 ale

Cambridge Pub Chain £2.30 lager

Cambridge Free House pub £2.10 lager

Oxford Pub Chain £2.40 lager

Oxford Free House pub £2.20 lager

London Pub Chain £2.24 lager

London Most Expensive Pub £3.00 lager

London Average Beer Price £2.41 lager

North Average Beer Price £2.16 lager

North West Average Beer Price £2.03 lager

Scotland Average Beer Price £2.15 lager

South East Average Beer Price £2.42 lager

South West Average Beer Price £2.30 lager

Wales Average Beer Price £2.11 lager

West Midlands Average Beer Price £2.17 lager

Yorkshire Average Beer Price £2.12 lager

Yorkshire Cheapest Pub - Free house £1.25 lager

Eurpoean Average Any Pub or Bar £1.40 strong lager

UK Average Free house Pubs £2.16 lager

UK Average Average Beer Price £2.25 lager

what price....

[uncle paul]

ill take 3 large bottles of chang for 100 bt anyday

[Welshman]

In comparing beer prices here in the UK, you have to bear in mind the tremendous gap between what you pay at a supermarket (see my previous post) and what you pay in a pub.

This has largely led to the demise of several 'decent' pubs where you could go and have a quite drink with your mates. With their overheads, etc, their prices just couldn't compete with the take-it-home-with-you stuff (even though it's probably the same beer).

As a result, a lot of the 'decent' and ordinary pubs have either had to shut or change over to accommodate other audiences, in particular the younger market with loud music, Sky sports 24 hours a day etc, binge drinking etc. Others have changed over to 'family friendly' pubs which welcomes whole familes - and their damned kids.

Who wants to drop into their local pub for a quiet pint and have kids screaming round their knees?

As a rule, you'd now expect to pay at least 4 times as much for a beer in a pub than the same stuff at home.

[sleir]

I must say, beer in Thailand IS expensive ! AFAIK it's due to high taxes, cause high production cost sounds very awkward to me.

Just as a comparison : Switzerland is a high cost country, no doubt about that.

Salaries for qualified workes are around 20 Euro/hour and Food is up to 90% more expensive than rest of Euroland. So we can safely assume that Switzerland is not the cheapest country to brew beer. But on the other hand we have hardly any taxes on alcohol. Which means you can buy a 0,5L, 4.8% Lager (standard strenght in Switzerland) low cost for 0,65 cent or high qual for 0,75 cent (1st price is for a single beer in supermarket, second price for 1 beer in a 6pack in supermarket).

That would be around 35 Baht for a half liter of hi quality beer (the germans love us for this stuff when we go to festivals in germany) of a local brewery far smaller than any brewery in Thailand, still making good profit every year !

So if Thailand sells beer for a comparable price it definetely is very expensive.

My assumption is there are very high taxes or not a competitive enough market.

And sorry lads, UK is simply not very good as a comparison, because everyone knows about your traditional yearly increase in taxes on alc & tobacco. What would be interesting is to know how much would it cost without. And then I'm sure you would even beat Switzerland and Thailand with the prices. (As you drink, if I am not misinformed, mostly beers from very large and industrious breweries)

Edited August 1, 2005 by sleir

[chuchok]

Not one answer to the OPs orig question? Why is beer so expensive here when you compare it to Thai brewed spirits?

[wilko]

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}>

Essentially, you're right...relative to average local income, beer in Thailand IS very dear.

However, compared to UK it's cheap. Europe the difference is not so spectacular. If you compare a supermarket bottle of Singha here with a mid-range brand in Sainsbury's I don't think you'll find it such a wide gap either. In pubs in UK it rather depends which end of the country you're in though.

[ilyushin]

Beer is taxed at 75%. So beer should only cost a quarter of the retail price. A fair tax would be 5-10-15%.

Years ago (now as well) the tax had to be prepaid before distribution this has caused the beer market little chance to mature as in other countries like Vietnam, Philippines, Laos etc..Where beer is cheap.

The high prices are taxes and the low total consumption keep this product from gaining volume discounts.

Beer sould be about Baht 25 for a large local beer and Baht 12-14 for small/cans.

[chuchok]

Beer is taxed at 75%. So beer should only cost a quarter of the retail price. A fair tax would be 5-10-15%.

Years ago (now as well) the tax had to be prepaid before distribution this has caused the beer market little chance to mature as in other countries like Vietnam, Philippines, Laos etc..Where beer is cheap.

The high prices are taxes and the low total consumption keep this product from gaining volume discounts.

Beer sould be about Baht 25 for a large local beer and Baht 12-14 for small/cans.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Are spirits taxed at the same amount?

[Johpa]

Are spirits taxed at the same amount?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If Thai "whiskey" was taxed too high the rural people, who once were 80% of the population, would simply start brewing their own again, At one time in was quite common to find local lao khao or lao paa in the villages. But with the improvement of the transportation system they began selling the taxed commercial cheap stuff that was sold somewhat competitively with the home brew and very competitively when the risk of arrest was factored into the equation. But many of the lesser brands, such as Hong Ngen, have all but disappeared and even Mae Khong, once a drink for the Thai elite, is now seen as a farmers drink. One can still find the cheap lao khao being sold in villages for 5 baat a shot. And I do like the corn pone whiskey brewed by the Mong for their New Year festivities.

Beer is a more recent foreign import and there is little local knowledge for brewing so there is little competition to highly taxed beer.

[Pepe']

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.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There are cheaper and crummier beers.

One that is drinkable and not bad at all especially with a slice of lime is Miller Genuine Draft.

20 long necks for $11.99. Very good on hot days when working out side or anytime your having more than one. No hangovers

Other wise when it's cooler I prefer local micro brews. Much stronger in taste and punch, Also at least double in price...

[Richard Hall]

Not one answer to the OPs orig question? Why is beer so expensive here when you compare it to Thai brewed spirits?

Jeez.... I have answered the question already in post no. 37 and the thread carries on and on. Proof that people may be quite capable in drinking beer and spirits but reading ability is lacking due to blurred vision but on the other hand the liquid is loosening the tongue?

Formula:

Booze = Fact divided by babble

Surely not Einstein but at least relatively close.

Cheers (burp),

Richard

[The Dude]

Cheap beer in America is much cheaper than cheap beer in Thailand. Thai beer is expensive and supremely lousy

[AndyMoss]

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}>

Beer seems expensive compared to Thai whiskey, but the advantage is....that you can drink it