Thai exports expected to grow by 5.5% in 2014

BANGKOK, October 29 (TNA) - The Center for International Trade Studies, under Bangkok-based University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, has predicted that the country's exports should grow by 5.5 per cent on average, worth 240-250 billion US dollars, in 2014, thanks to the global economic recovery. The center on Tuesday cited the recovering economies of the United States, the European Union (EU) and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a main reason to help boost Thai exports next year. The center cautioned, however, that risk factors remain for Thai exports next year, including economic problems in China and Japan, the fluctuation of foreign exchange rates and declining prices of agricultural products namely rice and natural rubber. However, the center indicated, Thailand's economic recovery, in line with the world's major economies, will then help raise the prices of Thai farm products; while industrial goods, like automobile and electrical products, will also help contribute to the expanding Thai economy. The center projected that the value of Thai exports this year should averagely grow by only 1.3 per cent, worth 232.25 billion US dollars, the lowest growth in four years, due to impacts from the continual global economic slowdown. But the center assessed that Thailand's export value in the fourth quarter of this year alone should expand by 5.1 per cent, worth 60.11 billion US dollars, thanks to rebounding Thai exports to the United States, the EU and other ASEAN member countries. (TNA)