BANGKOK, 16 Dec 2013,Despite an upbeat atmosphere, the volume of sales at Sampeng Market in Bangkok has declined thanks to persisting economic & political issues and rising commodity costs.
According to a recent survey on New Year gifts spending in one of the largest wholesale markets in the capital, Sampeng, thousands and thousands of customers have flocked to the venue in the past several days, looking for gift items for the fast approaching celebration of New Year 2014.
However, vendors at Sampeng told the media that although they could make sales throughout the year, their profits dropped by as much as 10% compared to 2012’s figures. They attributed the rising costs of goods and the recent economic volatility as the major causes of their lower profits, saying the factors also inevitably contributed to diminished consumers’ spending power
