Thai exports grow over 8% in 2017 so far

BANGKOK, August 23 (TNA) - Thai exports have been growing since early this year, at over 8 per cent year-on-year so far, thanks to the expanding economies of major trading partners. Pimchanok Vonkorpon, Director of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO), under the Thai Ministry of Commerce, told journalists on Wednesday that Thai exports during the first seven months of this year reached 132.40 billion US dollars, or up to 8.2 per cent year-on-year growth, which is the highest level in six years. Pimchanok reported that Thai exports in July alone stood at about 18.85 billion US dollars, a 10.5 per cent year-on-year expansion and their 5th consecutive monthly growth. The senior official noted that Thai exports have been growing in all categories of products, especially rice that grew as high as 98.8 per cent, and in almost all markets, including China, the United States, the European Union (EU) and Japan. The senior official revealed that Thai imports during the first seven months of this year stood at about 125.62 billion US dollars, leading to the country's trade surplus of about 6.78 billion US dollars during the January-July period. According to the senior official, her ministry has, thus, raised its forecast of Thailand's export growth in 2017 to 5-6 per cent on average year-on-year, from 5 per cent in its earlier forecast, on the conditions that the country' exports must reach at least 18.60 billion US dollars monthly during the rest of this year, the price of Dubai crude oil on the world market should stand around 45-55 US dollars per barrel and the Thai baht should hover between 34-36 baht a US dollar. (TNA)