Thai Ministry to keep a close watch on retails prices

[Robby nz]

Not just foodstuff that has gone up but services and other things as well.

My last haircut was 80 B the one before that 70 B and the one before 60 B, still cheap at 80 B compared to where I came from but a big percentage increase.

Fried rice and everything else at the little roadside place I eat at from time to time has gone up from 25 to 30 B and from 35 to 40 B depending what I eat.

Only 5 B and I don't begrudge them it for they have to make a living but it is a 20% increase on 25 B

The lady boss complains every time she fills her motorcy that the price of petrol has gone up...again.

Cooking gas has gone up.

And rice has also gone up.

Why the heck is that ? the world price has dropped something like 26% this year and the Govt has huge stockpiles of the stuff.

[rubl]

Not just foodstuff that has gone up but services and other things as well.

My last haircut was 80 B the one before that 70 B and the one before 60 B, still cheap at 80 B compared to where I came from but a big percentage increase.

Fried rice and everything else at the little roadside place I eat at from time to time has gone up from 25 to 30 B and from 35 to 40 B depending what I eat.

Only 5 B and I don't begrudge them it for they have to make a living but it is a 20% increase on 25 B

The lady boss complains every time she fills her motorcy that the price of petrol has gone up...again.

Cooking gas has gone up.

And rice has also gone up.

Why the heck is that ? the world price has dropped something like 26% this year and the Govt has huge stockpiles of the stuff.

A few minutes walking I have a (very) old-fashioned barbershop which charges 60 Baht for my 'number 2' haircut and 30 Baht for schoolkids. 'Khao Pad Moo' outside still 35 Baht.

Milk got price increases, lots of packages look smaller and beer prices are always going up. Mind you, even here in Bangkok I can still buy a (big bottle of) Chang classic for 50 Baht, in the shop around the corner

[ginjag]

Not just foodstuff that has gone up but services and other things as well.

My last haircut was 80 B the one before that 70 B and the one before 60 B, still cheap at 80 B compared to where I came from but a big percentage increase.

Fried rice and everything else at the little roadside place I eat at from time to time has gone up from 25 to 30 B and from 35 to 40 B depending what I eat.

Only 5 B and I don't begrudge them it for they have to make a living but it is a 20% increase on 25 B

The lady boss complains every time she fills her motorcy that the price of petrol has gone up...again.

Cooking gas has gone up.

And rice has also gone up.

Why the heck is that ? the world price has dropped something like 26% this year and the Govt has huge stockpiles of the stuff.

A few minutes walking I have a (very) old-fashioned barbershop which charges 60 Baht for my 'number 2' haircut and 30 Baht for schoolkids. 'Khao Pad Moo' outside still 35 Baht.

Milk got price increases, lots of packages look smaller and beer prices are always going up. Mind you, even here in Bangkok I can still buy a (big bottle of) Chang classic for 50 Baht, in the shop around the corner

Rubi, go get a case of Acha same company Ayuttaya, close your eyes and think of Honolulu

[khrab]

Do we all remember last year, as a poster said-the P.M. said it's all in the mind. Remember that EGGS were being pegged at 4baht per egg. LAST YEAR, now how much are they ?????? Marlow how much was your eggs ???? 7bht ???? no increase Ha ha. what % is that increase.

I agree that the price for many food items is constantly on the rise, but eggs are a bad example. Bought 10 yesterday in CM on the fresh market and they were 4 Baht each. Same price if you buy the house brand at Makro, Big C and Tesco. If memory serves me right all big retail chains promised about 4 weeks ago that they will keep the prices for about 2000 every day food items stable. Another white lie?

Which eggs are 4 Baht at Makro, tesco or Big C ? Must be the category 6 or something, because the Category 1 eggs I buy are 5.2 Baht at Big C for their housebrand and a little more at Makro for the house brand

Makro yesterday:

30 eggs, number 1,

111 baht. (3.7 baht each)

[patekatek]

One word for Thai business practices: Collusion!!!!

[ginjag]

Do we all remember last year, as a poster said-the P.M. said it's all in the mind. Remember that EGGS were being pegged at 4baht per egg. LAST YEAR, now how much are they ?????? Marlow how much was your eggs ???? 7bht ???? no increase Ha ha. what % is that increase.

I agree that the price for many food items is constantly on the rise, but eggs are a bad example. Bought 10 yesterday in CM on the fresh market and they were 4 Baht each. Same price if you buy the house brand at Makro, Big C and Tesco. If memory serves me right all big retail chains promised about 4 weeks ago that they will keep the prices for about 2000 every day food items stable. Another white lie?

Which eggs are 4 Baht at Makro, tesco or Big C ? Must be the category 6 or something, because the Category 1 eggs I buy are 5.2 Baht at Big C for their housebrand and a little more at Makro for the house brand

Makro yesterday:

30 eggs, number 1,

111 baht. (3.7 baht each)

So maybe if you buy 200 eggs they would be 3.5 baht each.

we really have to go on general daily or weekly shopping. but I believe here and there you save money-the problem is If I go to Makro for eggs Tesco for sugar-big C for coffee Tops for milk, what you save you spend more on petrol doing it.

Think we have to sum up and get your average from 1 store, all the big stores on average work out near the same for say 50 different items, or they would not be in business.

Sounds like if we had a poll on TVF looking at all the replies -not forgetting we are from all classes-that it's a resounding thumbs down to government lies re prices -Yingluck said it's all in the mind. we say different, not just it's anti government it is a fact, it is getting expensive. (think back 2 years re, prices then.

[MESmith]

Supermarket prices are a joke sometimes.

BigC xtra in chiang mai - passion fruit 129 bt for a bag.

Similar size bag from local market 35 baht. Aroy....

Someone's having a laugh.

[PeterSmiles]

Which eggs are 4 Baht at Makro, tesco or Big C ? Must be the category 6 or something, because the Category 1 eggs I buy are 5.2 Baht at Big C for their housebrand and a little more at Makro for the house brand

Makro yesterday:

30 eggs, number 1,

111 baht. (3.7 baht each)

So maybe if you buy 200 eggs they would be 3.5 baht each.

Indeed, and by the container they even gonna be cheaper than that, but in the posts above we were talking about a 10 egg pack, and actually the government price is per piece.

@ Khrab - please explain why I never see those prices at Makro and why Sunisalom paid 120 Baht or 10% premium for lower grade class 2 eggs at the very same shop ?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I like to buy the Koh-Kae brand of coffee peanuts, 255g size...

A lot of places sell them for 44 or 45 baht per. But my local Foodland for a long time has sold them for 43 baht per.

Yesterday, I was shopping at Foodland and noticed the price pretty much overnight had gone up to 49 baht per, which is a 14% increase for a Thailand produced product. And yet, the price of regular peanuts I also buy at the store doesn't seem to have changed, at least, as yet.

On the flip side, for a long time, my local Villa Market has been selling the fat free 8 oz. packages of spreadable Kraft Cream Cheese from the U.S. for 135b. Then the past few weeks, their registers have been ringing up 145b for that item, even though the shelf price has remained marked 135b.

So a couple times over, I've had to ask for refunds at the cash register. Then today, after having the same thing happen again, I asked the store manager about it, and it sounded from her answer like they're going to be raising the price to 145b, but just hadn't gotten around to remarking the shelf tags yet. 10 baht added to a 135b item is about a 7.4 percent increase, again, pretty much overnight.

[tingtongteesood]

Only thing genuinely cheap here is the rent these days.....

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I haven't noticed any increases in prices of non-imported items at all, which items do you see increasing in price every week?

Ahh...in addition to the two examples I cited above, there's also the pricing for the locally produced packages of pita bread rounds, which are sold at Villa and Foodland markets, among other places...

Price was 33 and then 35 baht earlier this year per package. Then in the past two months or so, the price went up to 40 baht per package, again overnight, with no change in the product or portion.

The locally produced pita bread rounds aren't imported, nor are the Koh Kae Coffee peanuts I mentioned above, which overnight have gone from 43 or 45 up to now 49 baht at Foodland.

And those are just some examples among many, especially in the foods sector. And I do notice, because I'm the one who does the shopping for our household.

Haven't seen those same kind of price increases for non-food products like paper products, etc.

[Thai at Heart]

What's shocking is that the price of meat and even some locally produced vegetables are cheaper in many European countries like UK, Germany, Switzerland, etc. than in Thailand.

Many imported items here are 8-10x the price than they are in Europe, which doesn't make sense even considering the air freight.

My milk used to be 55 Baht when I came to Thailand the first time. Now it's 50 satang under 90 Baht.

I agree. Shocking. Some farang farmers can chime in and correct me, but I know a guy who grows pigs. He told me that the wholesalers fix the price they charge for feed, and fix the price they will pay for the pigs, and then fix the price they charge markets. It's kind of like a mafia.

He butchers his own pigs and his wife sells the meat at a night market. He said he gets more than the wholesaler would pay, and less than a regular market would charge. He told me that selling that way is the only way he can make a profit.

I think it's possible that a lot of farming in Thailand is controlled that way. The price of seed, fertilizer etc, and then the price paid for farm products is all controlled by the same groups of people and they set prices.

I defer to any farmers on here who believe that what I was told is wrong.

You mean like price cartels and monopolies ? Naaah, will never happen in Thailand.

How is the richest businessman in thailand supposed to have got so rich.

[PeterSmiles]

What's shocking is that the price of meat and even some locally produced vegetables are cheaper in many European countries like UK, Germany, Switzerland, etc. than in Thailand.

Many imported items here are 8-10x the price than they are in Europe, which doesn't make sense even considering the air freight.

My milk used to be 55 Baht when I came to Thailand the first time. Now it's 50 satang under 90 Baht.

I agree. Shocking. Some farang farmers can chime in and correct me, but I know a guy who grows pigs. He told me that the wholesalers fix the price they charge for feed, and fix the price they will pay for the pigs, and then fix the price they charge markets. It's kind of like a mafia.

He butchers his own pigs and his wife sells the meat at a night market. He said he gets more than the wholesaler would pay, and less than a regular market would charge. He told me that selling that way is the only way he can make a profit.

I think it's possible that a lot of farming in Thailand is controlled that way. The price of seed, fertilizer etc, and then the price paid for farm products is all controlled by the same groups of people and they set prices.

I defer to any farmers on here who believe that what I was told is wrong.

You mean like price cartels and monopolies ? Naaah, will never happen in Thailand.

How is the richest businessman in thailand supposed to have got so rich.

Maybe he saved on his electric bill by switching off the aircon

[hanuman2543]

I bought yesterday 12 Cat 1 eggs in Rimping Supermarket ( and they are not famous for being cheap) for 60 Bath. So cheap foodstuff can be founf but my overall impression is that the big retail chains do price fixing on a very large scale for their own benefit like in so many other parts of the Thai economy.

[Ron19]

Has anyone noticed that the alcohol content of "Chang Classic" has dropped from 6.4% by volume down to 6.0% by volume ?

Also,the contents have dropped from 640ml down to 630ml.I haven't noticed any advertising regarding this.

[zyphodb]

Has anyone noticed that the alcohol content of "Chang Classic" has dropped from 6.4% by volume down to 6.0% by volume ?

Also,the contents have dropped from 640ml down to 630ml.I haven't noticed any advertising regarding this.

I bought a box of 12 Chang Classic Yesterday from our local small town Thai Supermarket for 535 Bht & it's still 640 ml bottles at 6.4% as always. where did you buy yours?

[PeterSmiles]

Has anyone noticed that the alcohol content of "Chang Classic" has dropped from 6.4% by volume down to 6.0% by volume ?

Also,the contents have dropped from 640ml down to 630ml.I haven't noticed any advertising regarding this.

I bought a box of 12 Chang Classic Yesterday from our local small town Thai Supermarket for 535 Bht & it's still 640 ml bottles at 6.4% as always. where did you buy yours?

Think you should check the MFD on the bottles, as mom and op shops are known to have old stock at times.

[Old Man River]

Economics 101. At the end of the day, It's all about supply and demand.

[Ron19]

Has anyone noticed that the alcohol content of "Chang Classic" has dropped from 6.4% by volume down to 6.0% by volume ?

Also,the contents have dropped from 640ml down to 630ml.I haven't noticed any advertising regarding this.

I bought a box of 12 Chang Classic Yesterday from our local small town Thai Supermarket for 535 Bht & it's still 640 ml bottles at 6.4% as always. where did you buy yours?

Any that I've had recently have been bought in a small village around 30 km south of Uttaradit.I did see that both bottles are labelled

" Brewed at Beer Thai (1991) Public Co , Ltd Kamphaengphet " but I think that wouldn't make any difference because the changes

would be standard throughout Thailand.

The manufacturing date on the 640ml - 6.4% is stamped 061013 and on the 630ml - 6.0% is stamped 021113 so the changes would

be somewhere in between the two dates.

[Mudcrab]

What's shocking is that the price of meat and even some locally produced vegetables are cheaper in many European countries like UK, Germany, Switzerland, etc. than in Thailand.

Many imported items here are 8-10x the price than they are in Europe, which doesn't make sense even considering the air freight.

My milk used to be 55 Baht when I came to Thailand the first time. Now it's 50 satang under 90 Baht.

I agree. Shocking. Some farang farmers can chime in and correct me, but I know a guy who grows pigs. He told me that the wholesalers fix the price they charge for feed, and fix the price they will pay for the pigs, and then fix the price they charge markets. It's kind of like a mafia.

He butchers his own pigs and his wife sells the meat at a night market. He said he gets more than the wholesaler would pay, and less than a regular market would charge. He told me that selling that way is the only way he can make a profit.

I think it's possible that a lot of farming in Thailand is controlled that way. The price of seed, fertilizer etc, and then the price paid for farm products is all controlled by the same groups of people and they set prices.

I defer to any farmers on here who believe that what I was told is wrong.

Welcome to the world of agribusiness

[Mudcrab]

What do we class as the basic foods here for everyday consumption ( normal needs)

Meat----eggs----rice------milk------noodles--------prawns------bread-------vegetables--------fish balls/pork--------coffee/tea----------fruit (oranges/durian/bananas)

All these have risen in the last year 20% on average.

If we mention Bacon---biscuits--cheese-----butter----imports -not that normal at all for Thai people. NOT CHEAP. out of reach for Thais.

Anyone who therefore says that food over the past year has not risen -your joking--also prove that they have NOT.

Mate....did you miss something? The basic wage has tripled. Do you think this would NOT have an effect on everyday items?

It's called inflation.

Edited December 8, 2013 by Mudcrab

[Mudcrab]

what about taxi drivers that charge beyond the Meter charge? or Tuk-Tuk drivers that charge way above the norm? Where is the policing of that?

From what I hear the ladyboys and bar girls have formed a union...less bang for the buck apparently. Shocking state of affairs.

[Mudcrab]

Economics 101. At the end of the day, It's all about supply and demand.

Used to be ...now it is all about supply.....same as drugs. When the suppliers all charge the same ..where ya going to go??

[slapout]

This "close watch on price" statement has been made so many times that it not even believable. We have had 'price freezes' ignored, we are monitoring prices, etc and not once has a solution been proposed, much less implemented.

When you have the basic food chain controlled by so few, price fixing by same, what do you expect. Oil dropped in price by 15 dollar a bbl, in a 5 weeks, and pump price never moved. Look at the retail price of rice, pork, chicken, bread, milk, etc in Thailand. There is little enforcement of any consumer protection laws/standards/government promises, etc

If the 25 million tourists who arrive (TAT count) were not so uninformed/gulliable the Thai protest numbers would be uncountable. But most of the inflation can be passed on to this group, thus the locals have a little relief.

[godden]

Yingluck should know she's an international shoper on a grand scale

[MMarlow]

PLEASE--this is why you do have people not agree with you--how many LIKES do you get ??? few, sorry you cannot be the norm shopper.

Hey, Ginjag, maybe I'm not the average shopper. This is a forum where individual opinions and experiences can be related. I certainly don't post on here to accumulate "likes", that would be just pathetic. Neither do I post specifically to have people agree with me.

Incidentally, as you brought this subject up, out of my approximately 410 posts I seem to have 200 likes, say 49%. I think youve posted about 4,600 times roughly and have a bit under 1,500 likes, that's 32%..

[Local Drunk]

What's shocking is that the price of meat and even some locally produced vegetables are cheaper in many European countries like UK, Germany, Switzerland, etc. than in Thailand.

Many imported items here are 8-10x the price than they are in Europe, which doesn't make sense even considering the air freight.

My milk used to be 55 Baht when I came to Thailand the first time. Now it's 50 satang under 90 Baht.

I agree with you, but how much of that increase is due to taxes?

[Local Drunk]

Yingluck should know she's an international shoper on a grand scale

And do you think she pays an import tax on anything?