farang luxury foods[going up up up]

[meatboy]

looks like the thais are twigging on to our favourite foods,can anyone add to my 3.

brook baked beans up to 55bht.a rise of 20%

spam is now over 220bht.a rise of over 25%

just before the chinese nyr.i posted my favourite fish had gone up 60% oh we were told the reason is the demand during this period,130kilo to 195kilo.

well its still the same 195bht.kilo.

Edited April 28, 2016 by meatboy

[Rob13]

Spam is luxury food

[lovelomsak]

Spam is luxury food

My thoughts exactly the same.

[NiwPix]

I'm curious what price Turkey will be this year. Will it go back down to ~160 Baht/kg or just leave it at 250Baht+ /kg

[The Big Mango]

Baked beans and spam = luxury ???

[MrRed]

Spam egg chips and beans.

[Bantex]

looks like the thais are twigging on to our favourite foods

spam is now over 220bht.

Post your email address and I'll guarantee your mailbox will get more spam than you can handle.

[thrilled]

You would have to pay me a lot of mney. To eat spam.

[Torrens54]

You would have to pay me a lot of mney. To eat spam.

Okay, so now we know WHAT you are and we are simply Haggling over your price?

[KittenKong]

I dont see any reason why imported items should not continue to be heavily taxed here. Thailand is a very protectionist country.

What gets me most here is not the price but the pathetic choice of items, even those that are made here.

[stoneyboy]

I dont see any reason why imported items should not continue to be heavily taxed here. Thailand is a very protectionist country.

What gets me most here is not the price but the pathetic choice of items, even those that are made here.

But why heavily tax imported items that you have no interest in manufacturing yourself,I fail to see how this protects their own markets,this is what I could never understand.

I was in Cambodia and Vietnam recently and stood in awe at goods that I had not seen ever in my 7 years in Thailand.

[meatboy]

ok.lets look at heinz baked beans,over a 100bht.a tin.425grms.includes sauce.

kilo of chicken breast around 50-65 bht.

how can you compare.

spam 220bht.for 340grm.tin

whats better than a chunk of spam,in a roll with salty butter and CHIPS.

can you name me anything thats produced here in thailand thats better.

anyone seen any tins of john west RED SALMON.

boil in the bag KIPPER FILLETS.

stop dreaming meatboy your on a frozen pension.

[Rob13]

Baht's weak, costs suppliers more baht to buy imported stuff. You gotta wonder why anyone would import spam though. Alot of trouble to go through for a can of processed pig entrails.

Edited April 29, 2016 by Rob13

[KittenKong]

But why heavily tax imported items that you have no interest in manufacturing yourself,I fail to see how this protects their own markets,this is what I could never understand.

Why do it? Because they can. It raises a lot of money, mostly from people who can afford it or who aren't Thai or both. So that's good for the government and the country.

[torpedo1970]

Amazing Thailand.

I am not going to discuss the luxury food and what is and is not part of it.....

But Going up up up is something we are seeing more and more....

it is puzzling since with the ASEAN agreement between countries there is no longer import taxes on most items from another ASEAN country.... meaning that many items should go down in price....

But Thainess stipulate that prices only can go one way.... and that is up up up...

i still hear that stupid phrase now and then. "you Farrang, you rich , you can pay".........

[Meena999]

Spam, I wouldn't feed that crap to my dog.

[malagateddy]

Spam egg chips and beans.

Try buying basic Thai food in the UK.

My wife lived in Glasgow with me for 9 years.

We went once a month to a very large Asian s/market to get all her Thai bits n bobs.

Roughly 60/70 quid... but over here...less than a fiver.

[alanrchase]

Was in Paragon a few weeks back. They had a big tuna that they were carving up, 2,000 baht for 100 grammes, plenty of Thais buying it.

[overherebc]

Spam, I wouldn't feed that crap to my dog.

I do !

[ThaiKneeTim]

I dont see any reason why imported items should not continue to be heavily taxed here. Thailand is a very protectionist country.

What gets me most here is not the price but the pathetic choice of items, even those that are made here.

But why heavily tax imported items that you have no interest in manufacturing yourself,I fail to see how this protects their own markets,this is what I could never understand.

I was in Cambodia and Vietnam recently and stood in awe at goods that I had not seen ever in my 7 years in Thailand.

It's not about protecting a non existent market, it's about balance of payments. Import tax is common in America and Europe, so why shouldn't Thailand use the same method to discourage the purchase of imported goods!

The other thing of course is that a specialist importer would be needed, as some products would have a very limited market. The low volume sales would mean that discounts wouldn't be available to the importers, which would inflate prices. There would also be a higher risk of write off on goods with a limited shelf life.

General question: Is there a store in Bangkok, or anywhere else, that sells imported expat goods? I know there is a place in Santa Monica that sells British products, is there anything like that in Thailand?

[ThaiKneeTim]

Simple Definition of luxury

: a condition or situation of great comfort, ease, and wealth

: something that is expensive and not necessary

: something that is helpful or welcome and that is not usually or always available

Source: Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary

Spam certainly falls into the realms of luxury of it's something you want but find difficult to obtain. Edited April 29, 2016 by ThaiKneeTim

[sangfroid]

I dont see any reason why imported items should not continue to be heavily taxed here. Thailand is a very protectionist country.

What gets me most here is not the price but the pathetic choice of items, even those that are made here.

But why heavily tax imported items that you have no interest in manufacturing yourself,I fail to see how this protects their own markets,this is what I could never understand.

I was in Cambodia and Vietnam recently and stood in awe at goods that I had not seen ever in my 7 years in Thailand.

It's not about protecting a non existent market, it's about balance of payments. Import tax is common in America and Europe, so why shouldn't Thailand use the same method to discourage the purchase of imported goods!

The other thing of course is that a specialist importer would be needed, as some products would have a very limited market. The low volume sales would mean that discounts wouldn't be available to the importers, which would inflate prices. There would also be a higher risk of write off on goods with a limited shelf life.

General question: Is there a store in Bangkok, or anywhere else, that sells imported expat goods? I know there is a place in Santa Monica that sells British products, is there anything like that in Thailand?

Villa Supermarkets have a range of imported expat products although fairly limited.eg Fray Bentos pies in tins. Barrs soft drinks. Corned beef etc etc.

Edited April 29, 2016 by sangfroid

[meatboy]

Spam, I wouldn't feed that crap to my dog.

I LOVE MY DOG AND HE TOOOOOOOOOOO loves spam,so how is it soooooooooooooooooo exspensive.

uk.price around eq.in bht.75. thai price around 220bht.almost 200% tax on top.

[chicowoodduck]

Geez, get a life and a new diet...ever tried some greens? ?

[Suradit69]

I dont see any reason why imported items should not continue to be heavily taxed here. Thailand is a very protectionist country.

What gets me most here is not the price but the pathetic choice of items, even those that are made here.

But why heavily tax imported items that you have no interest in manufacturing yourself,I fail to see how this protects their own markets,this is what I could never understand.

I was in Cambodia and Vietnam recently and stood in awe at goods that I had not seen ever in my 7 years in Thailand.

According to the O/P Spam would fall into the Luxury Tax category.

Baked beans might be taxed as an environmental pollution hazard.

[12DrinkMore]

He's right!

Baked beans : UK = 75p = 36 Baht

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=252261477

Baked beans : Thai = 99 Baht = 2.00 Quid.

http://shoponline.tescolotus.com/en-GB/ProductDetail/ProductDetail/6072486120

Ridiculous rip-off.

But you do get 5 grams more in Thailand and the beans come in a soup rather than a sauce.

The UK site gives a load more detail about the product too!

I am way out of touch here, what is this "1 of your 5 a day"? I will make it my goal for the day to find out.

[sangfroid]

Was in Paragon a few weeks back. They had a big tuna that they were carving up, 2,000 baht for 100 grammes, plenty of Thais buying it.

Hi So <deleted>.

[alanrchase]

He's right!

Baked beans : UK = 75p = 36 Baht

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=252261477

Baked beans : Thai = 99 Baht = 2.00 Quid.

http://shoponline.tescolotus.com/en-GB/ProductDetail/ProductDetail/6072486120

Ridiculous rip-off.

But you do get 5 grams more in Thailand and the beans come in a soup rather than a sauce.

The UK site gives a load more detail about the product too!

I am way out of touch here, what is this "1 of your 5 a day"? I will make it my goal for the day to find out.

aro brand baked beans in Makro are about 36 baht a can. Taste is not too bad but not up to Brooke or Heinz standard.

[nahkit]

ok.lets look at heinz baked beans,over a 100bht.a tin.425grms.includes sauce.

kilo of chicken breast around 50-65 bht.

how can you compare.

spam 220bht.for 340grm.tin

whats better than a chunk of spam,in a roll with salty butter and CHIPS.

can you name me anything thats produced here in thailand thats better.

anyone seen any tins of john west RED SALMON.

boil in the bag KIPPER FILLETS.

stop dreaming meatboy your on a frozen pension.

Tops supermarket in Khon Kaen has boil in the bag kipper fillets, 199 baht for two pairs. Bought some last month, first time I've ever seen them there.

You can also get spam for around 180 baht in Makro, just depends which brand you buy.

[ChrisKC]

Spam is luxury food

Of course it isn't luxury food. The OP is using the wrong word. "imported" is correct