Mama Instant Noodle To Freeze Prices For 4 Months: Thailand

[webfact]

Mama Instant Noodle to Freeze Prices for 4 Months

BANGKOK: -- The manufacturer of Mama instant noodle brand has assured that it will peg prices for four months to help ease consumers' high cost of living.

Pipat Paniangvet, chief executive officer of Thai President Foods, which produces instant noodle under Mama brand, assured that the company is ready to give full cooperation to the government in holding goods prices for four months to help relieve consumers' high living cost.

However, Pipat noted that the company will consider a price increase again after four months, taking into account the prices of raw materials, especially palm oil.

He stated that the company plans to construct a wheat flour plant to cut its long-term cost and affirmed that raising goods prices will be the last thing it will do.

The Thai President Foods CEO further said that the sales of its instant noodle in the first four months this year rose by 11 percent compared to the same period last year.

He attributed the sales growth to inflation and high goods prices, which forced consumers to be more cautious in their spending and drove up the demand for instant noodle.

He added the company has set a sales growth target at ten percent this year.

-- Tan Network 2012-05-15

[Jingthing]

That's nice.

What's not nice is those products are extremely unhealthy to eat as a staple food. Once in a while OK.

[GilesPeach]

That's nice.

What's not nice is those products are extremely unhealthy to eat as a staple food. Once in a while OK.

Agreed.

If you leave out the packet of nasty oil and add some fresh boiled veges it helps a lot though.

[Pseudolus]

That's nice.

What's not nice is those products are extremely unhealthy to eat as a staple food. Once in a while OK.

Agreed.

If you leave out the packet of nasty oil and add some fresh boiled veges it helps a lot though.

The packet of oil is not actually where the high fat content comes from. Prior to packaging, they are steamed to cook, and then deep fried in palm oil to dry them out. They are basically french fries in a pot and should be treated as such.

[Jingthing]

A real "people's government" in Thailand would put some energy in promoting more healthy staple foods. Mama noodles as a staple food, which as we know they indeed are for the masses here, is a horror show.

[phl]

and after 4 months the prices will double? i guess everyone now can stock up on Mama and company can double if not triple the sales for the next 4 months.

not a bad marketing strategy

[garrya]

What a News!

Come on guys, we shouldn't miss out on this deal.

We are going to see hoards of people queuing at shops, aren't we?

[TommoPhysicist]

I quite like them.

[Yunla]

Its sort of ironic that cigarettes are discouraged here, but all the food in Thai shops is loaded with sugar and palm oil which are barely better for your heart than smoking is.

[Jingthing]

Its sort of ironic that cigarettes are discouraged here, but all the food in Thai shops is loaded with sugar and palm oil which are barely better for your heart than smoking is.

The health awareness is very low. I don't think long life expectancies for the masses are a priority here. It's almost as if its a priority to shorten life.

[Semper]

A real "people's government" in Thailand would put some energy in promoting more healthy staple foods. Mama noodles as a staple food, which as we know they indeed are for the masses here, is a horror show.

Yes, how about the good old potato instead of the sticky rice.

[Jingthing]

Mama noodles make white rice seem to be a health food.

[h90]

palm oil: good to make soap and bio-diesel....but as food???

[Jingthing]

I don't want to come off as a food Nazi. If people want to eat stuff that will surely shorten their lives, I say go for it. My concern is that most of the people eating that aren't even aware of the connection (poor education?) and also how many low cost alternatives exist for them that will fill bellies so cheaply? It's funny Thailand is known globally for Thai food yet so many of the actual Thais subsist on such a poor staple food.

If people are aware, and there actually are similarly priced healthier alternatives, and they just choose to not care, I see no problem. But the current situation, I see a problem.

Edited May 15, 2012 by Jingthing

[Tropicalevo]

My concern is that most of the people eating that aren't even aware of the connection (poor education?) and also how many low cost alternatives exist for them that will fill bellies so cheaply? It's funny Thailand is known globally for Thai food yet so many of the actual Thais subsist on such a poor staple food.

If people are aware, and there actually are similarly priced healthier alternatives, and they just choose to not care, I see no problem. But the current situation, I see a problem.

I do not believe that it is due to poor education. Even educated people all over the world do not know what is heathy or not. Who can blame them. In my time I have been told that milk is good/bad for you. Eggs are good/bad for you. Red meat is good/bad for you. It just depends on what you read on which day.

However - look on the positive side.

Many people who eat the stuff (due to lack of funds?) can be happy knowing that the price is stable for a while.

[cardholder]

I quite like them.

that is as maybe - but it doesn't make them right !

This announcement is akin to the UK Chancellor saying that taxes will rise on 15 September.

Does anyone else see it is a prelude to a price increase in 4 months time.

[Jingthing]

No, I don't believe that well educated people don't know that things like french fries (and heavily processed foods) are not healthy foods. Sure there are foods where the news changes back and forth over time, like coffee (which to me is a health food in moderation) but talking about Mama noodles, that is NOT one of them!

Edited May 15, 2012 by Jingthing

[GarryP]

JT, you should try yam mama one of these days. If done properly with minced pork, seafood, nuts, chili, onion, spring onions, tomato, lime juice, etc. it is delicious.

[Jingthing]

JT, you should try yam mama one of these days. If done properly with minced pork, seafood, nuts, chili, onion, spring onions, tomato, lime juice, etc. it is delicious.

That isn't the point. Of course I have tried MN dishes and of course they can be delicious. So can a bowl of lard.

[looping]

I quite like them.

Try eating them 3 times a day for a week, that's what people will be reduced to (if they're not already!)

[Jingthing]

Look, even if there was a scary warning label on the noodles warning about the disease you can get when eating them regularly, I seriously doubt a large percentage of their current market would stop eating them (a lot). But wouldn't that at least be more ethical? No not warnings on every food that can kill you over time (that would be ridiculous) but on a mass market staple food like that.

Banning them would be silly of course. Then there would be a black market like drugs.

Edited May 15, 2012 by Jingthing

[MEL1]

Could always recommend not putting in the MSG, but actually there is no evidence of MSG having a negative impact on the body.

Instead of putting in the palm oil, put in a beer Chang export..... much healthier.

-mel.

[LucidLucifer]

The unhealthy eating phenomenon in the 'less upwardly mobile classes' is far from unique to Thailand. Substitute Mama noodles for chips, chicken nuggets and pizza, and you'll get what a sizable proportion of UK kids live on.

[bannork]

Pity the poor city dweller eating junk food such as mama, and the kids growing up on 7-11 instant food, Well overweight, they're prime candidates for diabetes and high blood pressure. My missus in Udon eats at least two Issan- Lao local vegetable dishes with every meal.

[ozzieovaseas]

Could always recommend not putting in the MSG, but actually there is no evidence of MSG having a negative impact on the body.

Instead of putting in the palm oil, put in a beer Chang export..... much healthier.

-mel.

This is an intersting call, and i hope for the sake of many you are right about a lack of evidence that MSG is harmful.

I watched families and their kids being fed up with MSG in every meal made for them.

They even added it as a marinade with bean soi to fatty pork which was then deepfried until nearly black.

I also watched on in horror as GFs sister added 2 dessert spoons of the stuff into a batch of Somtum, which was then eaten with the MSG laden meat.

Gf said if they didnt add it it wouldnt be arroy and the kids wouldnt eat it. This same thing hapenned every meal but alas they would not even dare try anything the farang had made because it was obviously "not arroy"

If it is harmless t makes me wonder though, why it is banned in a lot of other countries?

All thiongs considered though, I fear there will be a boom of health issues here in the next 20-30 years because of this need for everything arroy and instant gratification.

One thing i did notice about these people though, they did seem to have very white teeth but large gaps between the teeth. Don't know if thats just a quirk of Asian race or not?

At first thought i wondered whether the arroy diet may be eroding their teeth

[rubl]

Wait and see what prices will do, but for weeks already now at my local 7/11 in Bangkok, two 90gr. packs of Mama Shrimp Creamy Tom Yum and Minces Pork Moo for 14 Baht. A single pack 8 Baht.

Mind you the pork one lists Wheat 76.42%, Palm Oil 12.55%.

[surayu]

A single pack 8 Baht.

Hey the other day at Tesco i saw they just came up with their very own Tesco's Noodles for 3 bahts a packet, no ideas about how do they taste, if anyones want to give them a go....

[rubl]

A single pack 8 Baht.

Hey the other day at Tesco i saw they just came up with their very own Tesco's Noodles for 3 bahts a packet, no ideas about how do they taste, if anyones want to give them a go....

Although those Tesco noodles may be edible, I'm not that desperate yet

[fxe1200]

They could give away their soup for free, I would not touch it. I'd rather find me some junkfood without MSG.

Edited May 15, 2012 by fxe1200

[DrTuner]

How many thousand of the packs do you have to eat to gain a kilo ? I mean, fat content or whatever, there's not enough energy in a pack for more than an hour of physical labor. It's a snack, not real food.