Tuesday, February 22, 2011

The Great Cooking Oil Shortage Of 2554

Hot oil bubbles and foams over an open flame at a sidewalk stall

The word on the forums lately has been that there's a shortage of cooking oils in Thailand. Evidently it's gotten to the point that limits have been set in stores to avoid hoarding - as often happens wherever there's a shortage of something, perceived or otherwise.

My sympathies certainly go out to the poorer folks there who will undoubtedly suffer the most if costs for a bottle of oil rise and stay inflated for long. Those making 100 baht a day (about $3.30USD today) can ill afford the price of a bottle going up to 85+ baht per liter. Goodness knows the bigger folks (i.e. the KFCs, Burger Kings and McDs) will find a way to hold body and soul together financially.

Having just been surrounded by corpulent company on the beaches there recently a comment I posted in fun on a forum yesterday created an image in my mind that's stuck, though, so I'm borrowing my words from there to post here. I know it's inspired me to have a few more salads!

Mysterious disappearances
on
the beaches of Pattaya
- Imaginary News Service

Dozens of morbidly obese tourists have mysteriously
vanished over the past week from the beaches of the
tourist areas of Pattaya in what is being called yet
another blow to tourism during an already challenged
High Season.

"One minute Gustav was there, snacking on his ice
cream and donuts - and the next minute he was gone,"
said one woman, staring idly off into the distance at what
appeared to be ten Thai men, struggling to drag an
enormous bundle in a beach blanket across the road into
an overgrown area near the Pattaya Rendering Yards.

Meanwhile, across town, the Mayor was speaking to a
crowd at a fat rendering group luncheon, congratulating
them on their unexplainable upswing in their business
during these somewhat slow economic times.

5 comments:

krobbie said...

It must be way too early for my brain to kick into gear properly as it is before 7am and I am at my desk at work and I didn't get the correlation between the hike in oil prices and obese people disappearing of the beaches in Pattaya.

When it finally dawned on me I felt like such a dolt. Very droll though.

From memory when I was in Pattaya (Jomtien actually) at Christmastime they may indeed have surplus fat/oil now.

You are right ... salads and exercise is just the ticket.

Keith

khunbaobao said...

I guess the fat rendering reference was a little obscure, but I've been chuckling about it since yesterday. Reminds me a little of Charlton Heston at the end of "Soylent Green" screaming "SOYLENT GREEN...is... PEOPLE!!"

LOL

Anonymous said...

You laugh now... remember that you're referring to, ahem... 'Amazing Thailand', anything is possible.

JT

Anonymous said...

All that oil has no place in a healthy diet.

The Thai government should also not interfere with the supply of this commodity. Market pricing is the best mechanism to balance supply & demand.
This is one commodity where I think the poor will be proven to be the lucky ones in the long term.

khunbaobao said...

You have a point, but the "shortage" won't last - and their diet will be as it has been.