Ahead of Lunar New Year_ Thailand s poor feel sting of inflation

Instead of raising the cost of a dish_ noodle seller Yajai is putting less pork in her bowls  a cutback forced by the surging price of Thai pigs following an outbreak of African swine flu.

In a nearby alley_ a fruit seller cuts smaller pieces of papaya_ guava and pineapple to avoid passing on rising prices to her regulars.

The cost of eggs_ cooking oil_ gas and chicken have also shot up_ baffling small business owners across Pratunam_ a working-class_ Thai-Chinese neighborhood in downtown Bangkok.

 My costs are up by 20 percent since the start of the year_ Yajai told Al Jazeera.  Coconut milk_ cooking oil_ even the wonton wrappers & I ve never seen anything like this where everything goes up at once_ she said.  It doesn t make any sense.

As the Lunar New Year festival looms  a time when families normally spend liberally and small businesses get their first bounce of the year  Thais are being battered by inflation.

That is leaving poorer households short of money after two years of pandemic-crunched incomes_ small businesses leaking profit  and an unpopular government scrambling for a fix.

Economists say surging global oil prices have raised costs across supply chains_ including Thai production lines and transport networks for key goods such as animal feed.

But in a perfect storm_ Thai authorities earlier this month announced swine flu had hit the kingdom s nearly 20 million pigs_ threatening mass culls and prompting bans on pork imports by Taiwan and Cambodia.

Since the start of the year_ the price of pork has soared about 40 percent to 200-230 baht ($6-7) a kilogramme. With pork suddenly out of reach_ poorer families are buying more chicken_ in turn pushing up the prices of poultry and eggs  the essential ingredient in wonton wrappings.

Instead of the usual bounce before the Lunar New Year_ which begins on February 1_ markets in working-class areas of Bangkok are markedly subdued.

 A lot of people have gone back upcountry until prices drop_ Poonya Sugurd_ 49_ a grocer at a large fresh market in a Bangkok suburb_ told Al Jazeera_ explaining she has cut back on orders to avoid the leftover stock.

 Even the price of joss paper has gone up_ she said_ referring to the paper many Asian communities burn to honour their ancestors on holidays and at family gatherings.  I m trying to absorb the extra costs because I realise the pandemic has hurt my customers already.

In one of Asia s least equal societies_ inflation is not being felt evenly. While the poor feel every extra baht_ Bangkok s wealthy people are likely to be untroubled by the rising costs.

 We have a real wealth gap here_ Viroj NaRanong_ an economist at the Thailand Development Research Institute_ told Al Jazeera.

 Soaring food prices will not affect those [wealthier] folks who value their Chinese New Year tradition more than the price of goods.

Thai economists have played down the link with the United States surging inflation  at a nearly 40-year high  although petrol pieces and the shipping container shortage over the last year have passed on costs.

In addition to rising global oil prices_  the current rising food prices stem from the supply shock of pork  which is pushing other meat prices up _ Anusorn Tamajai_ a former Bank of Thailand board member_ told Al Jazeera.

 Unlike the US_ Thailand s inflation isn t worrying & inflation should not go above two percent here and the prices of goods won t keep rising all year. It is temporary.  Al Jazeera