food prices

[moose 961]

my wife just got back to thailand and is telling me how much food cost compared to the US. l thought it was close or less. l'LL give you some sale prices over here and maybe you can compare and comment.
eggs: 60 baht a dozen
milk 1 gallon: 90 baht
boneless chicken breast: 60 baht a pound

[splitlid]

eggs: 60 baht a dozen - yes pretty much the same
milk 1 gallon: 90 baht - sorry no idea what your talking about
boneless chicken breast: 60 baht a pound - more gibberish

rest of the world speak please

[Terry]

American Gallon or English Gallon?

[migrant]

About the same as California prices

[Big Boy]

I wonder how meaningful this question is with such a small sample of foodstuffs.

[JW]

Bet you cant get a kapow gai with fried egg and rice for 30 baht!

[Big Boy]

Bet you cant get a kapow gai with fried egg and rice for 30 baht!

Exactly. You would be lucky to get that for 300 Baht in the UK.

There are a lot of swings and roundabouts, with Thai prices winning hands down for value.

[migrant]

Bet you cant get a kapow gai with fried egg and rice for 30 baht!

$6.00 - $10.00 US approx around here

[Mrock]

Vegetables are cheaper
Meat is cheaper
Bread is cheaper
Fruit is cheaper

Bottled water is cheaper
Pepsi and Coke are cheaper
Beer is cheaper
Restaurants and Street Vendors are Cheaper

Whats not cheaper in LOS? Really??

[Pleng]

Chocolate isn't. But that's about it! (And it's not massively more expensive really, anyway)

[jingjoe]

golf is more expensive in thailand( not sure why considering the price of land and labour is cheaper here),quality red meat is more expensive,but thats because its imported.All other foods cooked at home or eaten at a restaurant,beer,spirits,rent petrol and upkeep of car in thailand are a quarter of the price here,thailand wins hands down compared to australia...and massages for 200bht wow........

[Winkie]

I think its very difficult to compare prices, as you need to compare like-for-like, which is very difficult.

Milk is cheaper here in Thailand, but all Milk (with exception of Ummm Millk and Milk from 1 University Farm) is powdered milk that is mixed with water and then bottled. Milk i the West (I believe) is generally from the cow's tit.

Chicken and Pork certainly is cheaper, but to what standard? Refrigerated Storage and Transport? Maybe, maybe not. Certainly not the same though, as in the West. Free Range in the UK has quite a different meaning in UK than here, so, I beleive, does organic

Animal welfare, are the slaughterhouses regularly visited and certified by Vets? Are hormone injections controlled/regulated/approved?

THB30 for Kapow Gai, surely Thailand is cheaper, but maybe you could still buy for the same price in US or UK if you purchased from a street vendor that paid not VAT, Income Tax and had no refrigeration.

If you try to compare like-for-like. I think you'll agree that Thailand is at least the same price, and in some cases much much more expensive.

As an example:-

Leg of New Zealand Lamb - Foodland Price in Bangkok about THB 2,900 (about THB1,000 per Kg). Tesco UK UKP7.50 per Kg (About THB360 per Kg)
Burger King - Suwarnabhumi Airport (had one last week) Double Whopper Set THB359. US Price US$3.29 (about THB99)

Imported products (where they are imported into both Thailand and Western Countries) are certainly much more expensive here than anywhere else. Local products, you simply cannot compare (Beef for example).

In Thailand you eat what is available (similar standards or different standards), and you pay the going price (higher or lower), no complaints about that (just thought I'd add this last comment before someone suggests that I jump on a plane and leave Thailand!)

[Cing Jai]

With all due respect moose 961, it sounds like your wife is trying to eat exactly the way she does at home and is not adapting to the way Thais eat. If you don't adapt and instead want to live in you culture with your food here with you you will pay a premium for importing it. If however you learn the Thai names of some dishes you like and go out and discover the country and food I think you will have an amazing time and you will be amazed how cheap it is.

[buksida]

Food prices in Thailand have risen a fair bit over the past couple of years, there is a complete thread on it here: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=20248

[Cing Jai]

Inflation is going up so fast here I can feel it daily. Wages have not not budged in 20+ years and this is one of the factors that I think will contribute to a collapse, or at lease a big economic emergency along the lines of 1997, here before too long.

The best way to compare prices (it's actually buying power you are comparing) is with a Big Mac. There's actually a Big Mac index currency traders use because the Big Mac is exactly the same product in every country it's sold in so it's a good basis for comparison.