Tesco Lotus, Makro, Big C to freeze, reduce prices

[transam]

Does this mean I can now afford HP sauce. ?

[jbrain]

I just noticed inflated beef prices in Tesco yesterday. 250 gr minced beef was 99.5 baht (398 baht per kilo, which was 270-290 baht per kilo before). All other beef parts was min. 400 baht/kilo in 200-250 grams packages.

Any idea why? Milk prices were also increased recently so I'm guessing milk productivity down due to weather (or greedyness), but then it doesn't explain why beef prices went up significantly.

Frozen imported Australian beef prices will be equal or cheaper than Thai counterparts if it stays like this.

Was shopping at Makro today in BKK, and they had a range of frozen "pra kob" beef 1 kg packages from Sakon Nakhon ranging from 200 to 300 baht per kilo. We bought a kilo of Grade A minced beef for 220 baht. They also had sliced beef for shabu and suki for a bit more.

Tesco's beef generally seems to be overpriced and not very good in quality or selection.

I think it must have been a special promotion, since the grade A ( Penfed ) minced beef is 270 baht at Makro, while the local minced beef is 220 Baht.

[zig]

The statement 'freeze or reduce the prices of more than 2,000 consumer goods and foods' is worthless unless more information is provided and things are put in perspective.

For example, they could have said 'we will freeze or reduce the prices of more than 2,000 consumer goods and foods, but will increase the price on other 5,000 items'.

[Pib]

M&M's are on sale at Lotus...a small pack which normally costs 30 baht is now 25 baht. That's probably one of those 2000 items. Of course it's not even worth 25 baht...the wife squeezed one of the packs to count the number of M&M's inside...she counted nine.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

regularly $1 for NINE M's???

[dighambara]

No mention of beer I notice.

WHO CARES..??

Have been coming to Bangkok for four years and there buy at Tesco Lotus, Big C and Tops daily - their prices haven't moved for the stuff I purchase. Though fruit and veg.change with the seasons, they've remained the same if compared with same season.

Amazing that the street vendors I use have kept prices the same too. Mind you, the same applies for Auckland prices, though there were big leaps in many items before the recent four-year timeframe.

I live in Bangkok...shop at those big stores your mention and also use street vendors and the their prices have indeed went up across the board. And those little hole-in-the-whole eating places which have menus in little booklets or on the wall, prices on those menus have been whited-out and replaced with new & improved prices so many times I always reminds me to giggle at the govt announcements about how inflation is supposedly so low and under control. But I have no doubt there may be a few items where the prices haven't increased.

Using the recent 4 year period, I just looked at the Bank of Thailand inflation statistics and compared the inflation index of 87.4 for Aug 2009 to the Aug 2013 inflation index of 108.79 for the "Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverage" category for the basket of goods used to determine the official Thailand inflation rate. From 87.4 to 108.79 that's a little over 24% inflation increase. And the subcategory of Vegetables and Fruits the inflation index of 68.3 for Aug 2009 to the Aug 2013 inflation index of 118.83. From 68.3 to 118.83 that's a 74% increase....and just from Aug 12 to Aug 13 it was a 9.5% inflation increase. And with it being the government inflation statistics it arguable they are understated.

Guess I need to figure out what you shop for and eat, and then change my buying habits to match yours...then inflation will no longer exist in my household. But me thinks you have probably not been noticing the inflation because your income is high enough to where you feel Thailand prices are still cheap. But to the common Thai trying to live on 10 to 15K baht per month while also feeding a family, this inflation has really impacted their standard of living. Never in my decades of being associated with/living in Thailand have I heard my Thai friends and family complain so much about inflation and how everything has got so expensive.

Precisely - since moving here, a plate of fried rice has gone from 15 Baht to 25 Baht - 30 or 40 Baht in some places. Ten years ago, we could feed a family of 4 on 80 Baht - food and drink. Now it is nearly double.

[bendywire]

Great news for all. I think i will have to dig out the /makro membership card wherever it is!!

Shut up you clown

[Hedghog]

The headline would more accurately explain the matter if it read::

"Tesco Lotus, Makro, Big C to freeze, reduce artificially high prices caused by inflationary government policies."

I have seen Tesco frequently raise their prices and then offer "discounts". Up three baht and then discount 1 baht for a big promotion. Been that way for a very long time. Big C has a similar practice.

Went to Makro today and it shouldn't be any problem for them to "reduce and discount" vegetable prices with the recent huge increase in prices. Many other items have increased drastically in the last few months to compensate for the up coming "discounts".

My supermarket bills have increased by at least 15-20% every year for the last 3 years.

Thank you Shinawatras and Puea Thai for those populist vote generating policies that are on a path to rapidly destroying Thailand's economy.

This is illegal in the UK. To advertise a promotion or reduction, the items must have been sold at the higher price for a given amount of time in the majority of stores that stocked the item. Consumer affairs groups keep an eye on companies that do break this rule - small companies (single store shoe and clothes retailers in particular I noticed in the past) get away with it, supermarkets and high street names would be scared of the backlash.

But Thailand isn't the UK, is it.

[Hedghog]

I wouldn't know if prices went up or down.

I shop for what I want and pay.

Easy really.

[wolf5370]

The headline would more accurately explain the matter if it read::

"Tesco Lotus, Makro, Big C to freeze, reduce artificially high prices caused by inflationary government policies."

I have seen Tesco frequently raise their prices and then offer "discounts". Up three baht and then discount 1 baht for a big promotion. Been that way for a very long time. Big C has a similar practice.

Went to Makro today and it shouldn't be any problem for them to "reduce and discount" vegetable prices with the recent huge increase in prices. Many other items have increased drastically in the last few months to compensate for the up coming "discounts".

My supermarket bills have increased by at least 15-20% every year for the last 3 years.

Thank you Shinawatras and Puea Thai for those populist vote generating policies that are on a path to rapidly destroying Thailand's economy.

This is illegal in the UK. To advertise a promotion or reduction, the items must have been sold at the higher price for a given amount of time in the majority of stores that stocked the item. Consumer affairs groups keep an eye on companies that do break this rule - small companies (single store shoe and clothes retailers in particular I noticed in the past) get away with it, supermarkets and high street names would be scared of the backlash.

But Thailand isn't the UK, is it.

Really? Darn missed that! [sarcasm Icon Here]

It was the difference (i.e. laxness of the laws of governance in respect to retail - as in the case mentioned by AGuy30) that was what I was pointing out - little in the way of consumer protection and an invitation to even the big guys to go right ahead and scam the populous.

[falang07]

yeah, freezing the prices = decrease the size of servings and the quality of food (like pork sausage containing all the leftovers, skin and lots of aroi-aroi chemical flavours instead of pure pork)

[jbrain]

Was at Big C today and Hahne meusli 1 kg still the same price as before...............oops what's that it now says 900 gram

At other supermarkets, same product still 1 kg and no price rise.

They now also have started to sell chicken parts by the piece, instead of per weight. They never did that before though, makes it more complicated to discover price rises I guess.

Their free cooking service also got some beating, since the ready grilled chicken legs carried a 65% premium over the raw one. But hey they put some pepper sauce on it for that price difference

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Re pricing, my local Tops market is bad in terms of pricing many of their meat packages by a set package price.... but nowhere to find the price per KG.... So you've got to do the math with the listed package prices and the weight listed such as 250 or 300 grams.

As for overall costs, I regularly buy packages of the small pita bread rounds stocked at both Foodland and Villa Markets. For years, they've been priced at 32b, then 33b, and sometimes recently 35 baht. The other day, I went to my local Foodland and found all the packages were now priced at 40 baht per item.

Their packaged ground beef also, overnight, seems to have gone up by 40-50 baht per kilo.