Love suffers in the 'IMF era'

Love suffers in the 'IMF era'

BANGKOK (AFP): The current economic slump has hit Thai lovers
where it hurts, forcing them to tighten their belts and spend
less on loved ones, a survey on the eve of Valentine's Day said.

The Bangkok survey titled "Valentines Day '98: Love in the IMF
Era" concluded that Thais this year were spending less on lavish
gifts for their loved ones.

The Thai Farmers Bank Research Center (TFBRC), which conducted
the poll earlier this month, said that from a sample of 1,893
Bangkok residents the average allocation for gifts this
Valentine's Day was down 200 baht (US$4.25) to 400 baht.

Overall money circulation for gifts celebrating the day this
year had also dropped to 620 million baht from 950 million baht
in 1997, the bank report said.

The survey found that although 76.7 percent of Bangkok
residents still said the day was of some importance to them, most
this year had opted for home-made presents rather than splashing
out on shopping sprees.

Despite hard times, the survey, which polled 75 florist shops,
found that roses, although expensive, were still the most popular
cut flowers of the day.

However, 56 percent of the florists surveyed said they
expected sales to plummet more than 55 percent this year, while
gift shop owners said they expected sales to drop by 20-30
percent.

Some 23.5 percent of respondents said the red rose was their
first choice of gift this Valentines Day, despite the cost of
imported flowers soaring to 400 baht a stem, from 80-100 baht
last year.

Thirty percent said they were giving cards, 10.9 percent said
chocolates and 8.3 percent said jewelry, while 5.3 percent said
artificial flowers would suffice for their loved ones and 21.8
percent said they would give a variety of other gifts.

Thailand, the cradle of the current region-wide economic
slump, turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a huge
loan to bail out its economy late last year.

The international loan package came attached to a raft of
painful reforms which have made the IMF a household term commonly
used in jokes about these austere times.