February 4, 201115 yr At TOPS supermarket in Silom Complex yesterday, I noticed that customers are limited to one bag of sugar. It's not that long ago that there was another sugar crisis here. I have also noticed that the price of good quality bread has increased by around 8%. Anyone watching any of the business programmes on TV is aware that all commodity prices have been skyrocketing. According to the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), world food prices rose to a record high in January. I notice that corn futures have virtually doubled in price in the last 10 months. The FAO Food Price Index, which measures the wholesale price of basic foods within a basket, averaged 231 points last month - its highest level since records began in 1990. It was up 3.4% from December, the seventh monthly rise for the index. "These high prices are likely to persist in the months to come," FAO economist Abdolreza Abbassian said. The index is now higher than June 2008 when the cost of food sparked violent protests in countries including Cameroon, Haiti and Egypt. The individual group components of the index, apart from meat, all registered rises in January. The Cereal Price Index averaged 245 points in January reflecting rises in the price of wheat and grain. This was driven higher by flooding in Australia, which is a major wheat exporter . . . The high price of food is thought to have been a factor in recent political unrest in both Algeria and Tunisia in the form of anti-government demonstrations, protests which have spread to neighbouring Egypt and Jordan. Recently, white sugar futures hit a record high because of concerns about the damage Cyclone Yasi could cause to the Australian cane crop. World Bank President Robert Zoellick has asked global leaders to "put food first" and tackle the problem of price volatility. "We are going to be facing a broader trend of increasing commodity prices, including food commodity prices," he said. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12354402 No doubt all this is one reason for the consumer price inflation Thailand is experiencing.
February 4, 201115 yr The owner of Corner Bar in Sunee Plaza, Mike, has been having trouble getting ground beef as well as cooking oil other than the much more expensive Mazola corn oil. I was told that the reason the cooking oil is scarce is that the Thai producers are able to get much more money for shipping it out of Thailand on tankers to be used for making gasohol. There is no bottling or distribution charges.
February 7, 201115 yr By the looks of the tourists visiting Pattaya they all look like they are getting all the food they need and then some!
February 7, 201115 yr I was told that the reason the cooking oil is scarce is that the Thai producers are able to get much more money for shipping it out of Thailand on tankers to be used for making gasohol. There is no bottling or distribution charges. Isn't the stuff subsidized and/or subject to price controls in Thailand? I read something like that in the BKK post a few weeks back. That could cause shortages. Allowing the price to increase when supply is short would limit demand. Most people would do well to use less cooking oil anyhow, even in Thailand.
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