Just wondering if the free trade agreement between NZ and Thailand means anything bought on TradeMe and shipped to Thailand would escape customs duties, like printer ink?

The short answer is no.

The long answer is here: https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/free-trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements-in-force/thailand/

Why printer ink? I would be surprised if that was cheaper in NZ than Thailand. Unless it is for a specific model, not common in Thailand.

If there's a free-trade agreement between NZ and Thailand why does a 200 gram piece of Mainland cheese cost 170 baht ($NZ 35.50 a kilogram)? Is it just the grocers jacking up the price because it's "farang food"?

Edited February 23, 201610 yr by Inn Between

If there's a free-trade agreement between NZ and Thailand why does a 200 gram piece of Mainland cheese cost 170 baht? Is it just the grocers jacking up the price because it's "farang food"?

I hear you. I just got back from NZ and 1kg blocks of Mainland cheese cost about that. Presumably it's to protect Thai cheese producers. I bought a local brand recently that was only a little less costly than the NZ cheese and it was awful.

No Such thing as free trade between Thailand and NZ, I have to pay 27% duty.

If there's a free-trade agreement between NZ and Thailand why does a 200 gram piece of Mainland cheese cost 170 baht ($NZ 35.50 a kilogram)? Is it just the grocers jacking up the price because it's "farang food"?

According to this the regular price in NZ is: http://shop.countdown.co.nz/Shop/ProductDetails?stockcode=295891

Exchanged to THB: https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=cr,ssl&ei=2AqAVeC5NYPWmAXow434Cg&fg=1#newwindow=1&q=nzd6+to+thb

Considering it isn't a high volume product in Thailand, the price seems reasonable to me.

If there's a free-trade agreement between NZ and Thailand why does a 200 gram piece of Mainland cheese cost 170 baht ($NZ 35.50 a kilogram)? Is it just the grocers jacking up the price because it's "farang food"?

According to this the regular price in NZ is: http://shop.countdown.co.nz/Shop/ProductDetails?stockcode=295891

Exchanged to THB: https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=cr,ssl&ei=2AqAVeC5NYPWmAXow434Cg&fg=1#newwindow=1&q=nzd6+to+thb

Considering it isn't a high volume product in Thailand, the price seems reasonable to me.

Good point. If the normal price is NZ$6, which is 6 x 23 = 138 Baht, then 170 is reasonable considering the cost of transport to Thailand, local transport to the shop, retailers profit and overheads/staff salaries.

If the price were only NZ$2 back in NZ, then I would suspect something fishy going on in Thailand.

If there's a free-trade agreement between NZ and Thailand why does a 200 gram piece of Mainland cheese cost 170 baht? Is it just the grocers jacking up the price because it's "farang food"?

I hear you. I just got back from NZ and 1kg blocks of Mainland cheese cost about that. Presumably it's to protect Thai cheese producers. I bought a local brand recently that was only a little less costly than the NZ cheese and it was awful.

Well I'm not so sure about that. First of all, the link posted below from a NZ online retailer clearly shows the usual price being NZ$6 for a 200g block of Mainland cheese, which equates to 138 Baht at an exchange rate of 23 Baht to 1 NZ dollar. 2-3 years ago when the NZ dollar was much stronger than it is now, that would have been closer to 170.

After transport costs, salaries and overheads, profits are factored in, it can be said that the Thai retailer is only making a small amount considering that 170 Baht is only 32 Baht higher than the usual NZ price (not taking into account the discounted NZ$5.30 price offered on that website).

Thai cheese producers are far and few between. They only make 2-3 types of cheeses, yes, they are awful but some of them are also MORE expensive than many imported ones.

Case in point is grated parmesan from Australia, specifically the Perfecto Italiano brand 100g. Unfortunately, this is not sold at most Tops but Big C Extra (not sure about the normal Big Cs), Gourmet Market and Foodland stock it for around about 126 Baht at Foodland and up to 139 at Big C extra. By contrast, the Thai equivalent costs at least 149 Baht. I would never purchase the Thai equivalent not only because it's more expensive, but of course I know the Aussie stuff is better and frankly Australian products should be supported. Too many industries over there have suffered in recent years, cheese should not be one of them.

Also, no Thai that can afford a foreign cheese (and has a liking for cheese) would consider buying the inferior Thai cheese. Thais like foreign products because they provide "face". Try bringing along some local Thai wine to a wedding instead of say Australian wine and listen to the complaints about it after they took a few sips of the inferior Thai wine.