TNSC:Thai exports should grow by 8% in 2018

BANGKOK, May 8 (TNA) - The Thai National Shippers' Council (TNSC) has projected that the country's exports should grow by about 8 per cent year-on-year in 2018, as officially targeted by the Ministry of Commerce. TNSC Chairperson Ghayapad Tantipipatpong told journalists that TNSC has already revised upwards its forecast of Thailand's export growth this year from 6 per cent year-on-year to 8 per cent year-on-year. Ghayapad attributed the growing Thai exports to such positive factors as the recovering economies of the country's trading partners, expanding markets for Thai exports, covering online outlets, and rising crude oil prices on the world market. Besides, the Thai government's successful move recently to join forces with Alibaba Group Holding Limited, a Chinese multinational e-commerce and online technology conglomerate, has further boosted the country's exports, especially to the immense Chinese market. Based on TNSC statistics, Thai exports consequently hit a historic peak of about 22.36 billion US dollars in March 2018 alone, bolstering the country's exports during the first quarter of this year to about 62.83 billion US dollars, a 11.3 per cent year-on-year expansion. The TNSC chairperson said TNSC, thus, raised its projected figure of Thailand's export growth to 8 per cent year-on-year, from 6 per cent year-on-year earlier forecast. The TNSC chairperson cautioned, however, that there are remaining risk factors against the country's export growth this year, including the appreciation of the Thai baht and impacts from low prices of some Thai farm products, as well as tit-for-tat trade retaliation between the United States and China. According to the TNSC chairperson, the Thai baht has started weakening to about 31.7 baht a US dollar, after the stronger Thai currency cut the total value of Thai exports in baht by about 4 per cent in March 2018 to stand at about 697.07 billion baht. The TNSC chairperson suggested that the Thai government assist local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to be prepared for the risk factors, resort to financial measures to guarantee exporters from foreign exchange risks and closely monitor and timely deal with the changing situation of the world trade in the coming months. The TNSC chairperson also proposed that the Thai government accelerate negotiating on new free trade frameworks to boost the country's bargaining power in the long run and ease negative impacts from protectionist measures imposed by trading partners, while Thai producers should keep developing the quality of their products to higher standards. (TNA)