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Published on January 18, 2008

For some time now, price increases have been standard. For example, one-dish meals at street stalls have risen Bt5, and a bucket of ice at a corner grocery has increased Bt5 or Bt10, depending on its class. Menu prices at fine restaurants have increased between Bt20 and Bt50 or even Bt100. Only retail oil prices are being jacked up in satang units.

As such, it was a little funny when the Commerce Ministry launched a campaign for more use of small satang coins. Doesn't it know that it is so hard to find satang coins, even at 7-Eleven stores, where goods are sold in incremental amounts of 25 and 50 satang?

And even though this campaign applies specifically to consumer goods in retail outlets, it has nothing to do with the prices of other goods. No wonder Thais are fretting so much over the rising cost of living that they have tightened their purse strings.

Still, we're lucky compared with other countries. Our inflation target of 3-4 per cent is very low, especially when you look at Zimbabwe, where it is the world's highest, 8,000 per cent.

Since people must carry sacks of cash to buy stuff - if there are any amid chronic shortages - Zimbabwe's central bank is launching new bank notes, including a 10-million-Zimbabwean-dollar bill, reports Agence France Presse. Effective today, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is releasing the following bank notes into circulation: Z$l million (officially worth about US$33, or Bt1,100), Z$5million and Z$10 million.

Daily cash withdrawals have also been increased from the current Z$50 million per individual to Z$500 million.

Earlier, on December 19, the bank had announced the immediate introduction of higher denominations of banknotes in a bid to tackle cash shortages fed by runaway inflation. The following day, Z$250,000, Z$500,000 and Z$750,000 notes officially came into circulation.

Just when we're scrambling for small satang coins to buy items at the 7-Eleven, Zimbabweans are toting Z$10-million notes.

While people here are feeling they are growing poorer, all Zimbabweans are millionaires, albeit in a rather disastrous way.

achara_d@nationgroup.com

The Nation