Thai exporters urged to avoid unloading goods at US West Coast

BANGKOK, January 31 (TNA) - Thai exporters have been advised to have their goods delivered at the United States' East Coast or other ports in neighbouring Canada, instead of the US West Coast, as an ongoing problem at ports along the US West Coast has incurred rising expenses and a delay in unloading goods. Nantawan Sakuntanak, Director-General of the Thai Ministry of Commerce’s Department of International Trade Promotion, told journalists on Friday that her ministry has received a report from the Thai Trade Centre in Los Angeles, saying that a problem of US-Thailand trade could occur due to an ongoing dispute prevailing at ports along the US West Coast, which has caused an “unnecessary rising expenses” to exporters. Nantawan said Thai exporters should, therefore, have their goods unloaded at ports along the US East Coast or at other ports in Canada and then transport them by trucks to the Unites States. The senior official noted although oil prices have declined and lowered goods delivery costs in the United States, a block of workers from entering the US West Coast ports to work would force deliverers to switch to using other ports, which would push up costs and consumers would have to pay at the end. Meanwhile, Jirapaphan Malithong, Executive Director of the Thai Trade Centre in Los Angeles, assessed that the expected switching of ports could cause a temporary shortage of certain goods in the United States. Jirapaphan cited as an example that 866 million pairs of shoes imported by the United States, 68 per cent of them were set to unloaded at Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, but they are awaiting unloading and will probably not in time when schools there reopen or for the upcoming spring and summer seasons. (TNA)