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.