The festival began yesterday and runs until next Monday, which is later than last year, when it fell in early October. This is due to the doubled seventh lunar month in the Chinese calendar this year.

The major reasons for the higher outlay this year are keener awareness of the benefits of a healthier diet and the desire to make merit and cleanse the body and mind by abstaining from meat.

Lower consumption of meat means reduced slaughter of animals. Some will be observing the festival as a good deed in honour of the 60th anniversary of His Majesty the King's accession to the throne.

Instant and pre-cooked je foods are becoming more popular now because they are convenient, easy to find, inexpensive and offer a wider variety.

Based on a recent poll conducted by KResearch, the criteria of greatest importance to Bangkok residents in choosing vegetarian food are quality, hygiene and prices that are not inflated. For these reasons, vegetarian-food producers are offering newer and better recipes.

Sales of pre-cooked vegetarian food, including canned goods, are galloping ahead at 20-25 per cent a year. The canned vegetarian-food business is estimated to be worth a staggering Bt200 million per year.

Most instant-food producers are also developing frozen, pre-cooked vegetarian food for the festival. They remain reliant on traditional distribution channels, mainly supermarkets in department and convenience stores.

Cooked-to-order and a-la-carte vegetarian meals, which used to be popular in Bangkok, have become less so because the number of vendors has dropped, particularly retailers who sell only during the festival.

The vendors who still sell cooked vegetarian food will have to adjust their strategies considerably, especially as regards their tendency to raise prices. They will no doubt turn to smaller portions and/or cheaper ingredients.

Bangkok residents will probably still go for all-in-one dishes, especially for lunch, as is their wont.

The survey found that less than 10 per cent of Bangkok residents cooked themselves because they had too little time for preparation and washing up.So vegetarian food will largely be eaten in the food centres of supermarkets and department stores, which are convenient for parking, generally clean and air-conditioned, an important consideration in this hot weather.

Soymilk in cartons is the most popular vegetarian food in Bangkok, selling well with deep-fried Chinese dough twists in the morning and evening, and producers are churning out up to three times their normal volume.