Thai exports projected to grow 8% in 2018

BANGKOK, February 20 (TNA) - The Ministry of Commerce has updated its projection of Thailand's export growth this year to stand at about 8 per cent year-on-year on average, worth about 255.63 billion US dollars. Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong told journalists of the updated figures on February 19, after meeting with visiting top Thai commercial envoys stationed in foreign economies worldwide, chaired by Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, who oversees economic affairs. "The updated figures came during Monday's discussions at the meeting, as the participants agreed that Thai exports to Russia could soar by 30 per cent year-on-year in 2018, while those to East Asia, including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, could grow by 7-12 per cent year-on-year, to other member countries in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 6.5 per cent year-on-year, to South Asia by 8 per cent year-on-year, to Africa by 11 per cent year-on-year, to the Middle East by 5 per cent year-on-year, to North America by 7 per cent year-on-year and to Latin America by 3 per cent year-on-year" said the minister. According to the commerce minister, his ministry will particularly promote and support Thai exports, namely fruits and processed fruit products, to new cities or areas in the potential markets, especially those in China based on the Thai government's strategy on promoting Thailand to become a world fruit hub in the future. Meanwhile, Deputy Premier Somkid suggested that the Thai Ministry of Commerce work together with the private sector, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to boost Thai exports to meet the targeted figures this year. The deputy prime minister also suggested that top Thai commercial envoys worldwide work harder and work with other relevant agencies, including the Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI), to support Thai businesses to expand their investment in the potential markets in order to import more Thai products. Besides, the deputy prime minister suggested that the Department of Business Development and the Department of International Trade Promotion, under the Thai Ministry of Commerce, work together to adopt modern technologies to further boost Thai exports, including e-commerce systems, along with organizing roadshows and international business matching events, as well as developing their integrated database center to support their joint exploration of new and potential markets for Thai exporters. The deputy prime minister noted that the appreciation of the Thai baht remains a risk factor of the country's export growth this year, but relevant agencies have been assigned to take appropirate measures, based mostly on the market mechanism, to cope with the situation in the currency market. (TNA)