Thailand's purchase orders not affected by EU/US moves

BANGKOK, June 30 (TNA) - Recent moves by the European Union (EU) and the United States on reducing relations with Thailand and on dropping the country from the human trafficking watch list respectively have not affected purchase orders by overseas buyers so far. Nopporn Thepsitthar, Chairman of the Thai National Shippers' Council (TNSC), told journalists of the information on Monday, assessing, however, that the EU and the US moves should begin affecting Thai exports next year. Nopporn recommended that Thai exporters, thus, turn to neighboring markets in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China and India. Nopporn acknowledged that Thailand's export growth may not reach 3 per cent as targeted this year due to a slowdown in the global economy and a decline in the national competitiveness. Meanwhile, Kiat-anant Luankaeo, Director of Bangkok-based Dhurakij Pundit University's Research Center, revealed that a recent poll conducted by his center found 81 per cent of surveyed local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) thought the Thai economy should be improving in the second half of this year, compared with the first half, with the national economy expected to expand by 2.64 per cent on average in 2014 and total sale of products to grow by nearly 20 per cent in the second half of this year, thanks to domestic political stability, economic stimulus measures implemented by the army-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and capital inflows. The research center also found that a hike in Thailand's daily minimum wage to 300 baht two years ago has boosted workers' incomes but their costs of living have steadily increased from 231 baht a day in 2011 to 266 baht a day in 2013, a 15 per cent rise, and the increment has been 10 per cent so far this year. (TNA)