Private sector maintains Thailand's export growth projection at 9% in 2018

BANGKOK, October 5 (TNA) - The Thai National Shippers' Council (TNSC), a focal private organization, has maintained its projection of the country's export growth rate in 2018 at about 9 per cent year-on-year. TNSC Chairperson Ghanyapad Tantipipatpong told a press conference on the updated forecast of Thailand's export growth this year on Friday, citing many positive factors including a well expansion of the country's exports to potential trading partners as substituted products for the United States and China during their ongoing trade war. Ghanyapad acknowledged that Thailand's exports during the first eight months of this year stood at over 169 billion US dollars, a 10 per cent year-on-year increase, but stood at over 5.38 trillion baht, a 1.9 per cent year-on-year increase, while the country's trade surplus stood at over 2.35 billion US dollars or over 2.06 billion baht. Ghanyapad pointed out that Thailand's exports in August 2018 alone stood at over 22.79 billion US dollars, a 6.7 per cent year-on-year increase and the 18th monthly consecutive expansion. According to the TNSC chief,Thai exports to other member countries in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), especially to Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam known as the CLMV group, as well as India and other South Asian nations have particularly much expanded, while those to Japan, the United States, the European Union (EU) have expanded by 3.2 per cent and those to China have expanded by 2.3 per cent. The TNSC chief said her organization has, thus, maintained its projection of Thailand's export growth this year at 9 per cent year-on-year based on a key assumption that the value of the Thai currency stands at about 33 baht a US dollar, thanks to such positive factors as the country's shipments of goods to potential markets have kept expanding, rising exports of such farm and processed farm products as rice, rubber items, vegetables and fruits, seafood to the rival US and the Chinese markets as substituted goods during their ongoing trade war and more investment projects-stimulated purchase orders of Thai products by neighboring countries in AEC, where a rising relocation trend of multinational firms in the global supply chains is anticipated in the near future. The TNSC chief cautioned, however, that risk factors remain against growing Thai exports, namely the possible appreciation of the Thai baht due to more capital inflows as Thailand is seen as a save haven, long term impacts from the ongoing trade war between the United States and China, which may result in a drop in Thai exports of washing machines, solar cells and steel, rising world oil prices and production and logistics costs and the impact from a drop in farm and fishery produce prices in the country. (TNA)