People from all walks of life have been feeling the pinch from the rising cost of living over the past few years. A blue-collar worker has to pay an additional Bt3.50 for his bus fare compared to three years ago. Similarly, a white-collar worker will have found he has to pay additional Bt10 for a medium hot tall vanilla latte at Starbucks compared to the price in 1998, when the global coffee chain was introduced to Thailand.

Comparing the two, passengers of Bangkok's cream-and-red buses have had to accept a 50-per-cent increase in their fare, while the Starbucks-goers will have found their drinks only 11 per cent more expensive.

The rising cost of living - particularly with crude oil prices escalating tirelessly and pulling up the price of goods and services - has brought about an inevitable struggle for most people.

But cost increases have affected consumers differently, depending on their incomes, the types of products they buy, the scale of the price increase, the availability of substitution products and the government's control of prices.

Low-income workers must have been hard hit by each Bt1 increase in bus fares, but high-income workers will have hardly felt the impact of a Bt10 hike on a cup of coffee. Gold collectors, or those hoping to tie the knot, have been affected by the sharp rise in the price of the precious metal as a result of intense speculation on the global market. The selling price of gold in Thailand has jumped at least 80 per cent since 2002.

The rise in bus fares has had a widespread impact on working- and middle-class passengers who rely on public transportation.

The fare for the cream-and-red buses, which had been Bt3.50 since September 1992, was raised to Bt4 in February 2004. It then went up to Bt5 in May 2005, and to Bt6 two months later. After the bus operators were hit by soaring fuel prices, the fare rose again - to Bt7 in February.

A source from the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority said the increase was based on a range of higher costs. Its rising expenses were caused not only by escalating oil prices but also by the increase in interest rates and operational costs.

Rising oil prices have had a big impact, directly and indirectly, on all classes of people. The price of Dubai crude has jumped 186 per cent since 2002, while the retail diesel price in Thailand has shot up 109 per cent compared with 2002. The price of octane 95 petrol has risen 90 per cent over the same period.

The oil price hikes have affected many sectors, particularly businesses that depend largely on transportation.

Many newspapers have raised the price of their publications to counter higher fuel costs. However, the price rises have not had a big impact on circulation as readers have remained dedicated to their favourite papers.

Matichon has just raised its price by 25 per cent to Bt10, while Thai Post is to be sold at Bt15 - and increase of 50 per cent - in September. English-language newspapers and three-day newspapers have also raised their cover prices.

One 60-year-old said he would not buy a daily business newspaper if the price increased because he could now read news stories on the Internet. He said he could also shift to a cheaper newspaper or follow up on daily events on television.

Instead of raising prices directly, many producers and traders have adopted other strategies in a bid to avoid a slump in sales. This can be seen in businesses where there is high competition, or high price elasticity.

Lily, 25, complained that she could no longer find any of her favourite snacks in stores for Bt5 as the smallest packs been wiped off the market. She also found that the number of pieces in larger packs appeared to have diminished.

"I have to pay more for snacks and other products. I feel the value of my money is diminishing and that I can no longer save as much as I want. I wonder how I will survive if I have other emergency expenses," she said.

The Commerce Ministry's price-control policy has, however, helped curb rising prices of some essential products and slow down the rising cost of living.

The size of many household goods such as soaps and detergents has been reduced in a bid to quote prices under the ceilings.

Soft-drinks producers have had to ask permission before raising the prices of their products. Currently, they have set price an Bt8 limit on regular-sized bottles. Such price hikes and marketing strategies have taken place not only in general markets, but also in the tax-free King Power Duty Free.

Anoma Srisukkasem

The Nation