The Commerce Ministry's proposed 40-baht khao kaeng scheme was intended to ease living costs. Instead, it has exposed a simple reality in markets across Thailand: many vendors are already selling meals at that price without government support.
At a busy Lat Pla Khao market in Bangkok's Bang Khen district, customers queue before dawn at Pee Pen's Southern Food stall, where khao kaeng or a dish of rice with one choice of kab khao (side dishes) has cost 40 baht for more than a decade.
