Thai bank worried over impact of strong baht

BANGKOK, Jan 8 (TNA) -- The Siam Commercial Bank voiced their concern that the rising baht would result in reduced competitiveness of Thailand's agriculture exports particularly in comparison to Vietnam. Pacharaphot Nuntramas, the head of Economic and Financial Market Research attached to the Economic Intelligence Centre of the Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) stated that the appreciation of the baht as of the beginning of 2018 is actually a sustained rise that began last year. Mr Pacharaphot estimates that the baht will hover at between 32 to 33 to the US dollar for the entire year. Many in the private sector have begun adapting to the change as the trend was spotted early. What concerns the SCB however is the impact on the country 's major agriculture exports such as rubber and rice which will become less competitive in comparison to its leading competitors such as Vietnam. Compared to the Vietnamese dong, the baht rose by 10 per cent and 5 five over the Chinese Yuan. This has meant that Thailand will have less control on market prices of agricultural commodities. In any event, Mr Pacharaphot stated that the rise in the baht will not affect national exports too badly this year and the 5 per cent growth projection will be met due mainly to the sustained global economic expansion. The demand for Thailand's products is still high which will ensure that the 4 per cent economic growth projection will be met. (TNA)