TNSC:Thai exports should grow at least 8% in 2017

BANGKOK, November 6 (TNA) - The Thai National Shippers Council (TNSC) has adjusted upwards its projection of the country's export growth in 2017 to at least 8 per cent year-on-yar on average, from its earlier projection of 5 per cent year-on-year. TNSC Vice Chairman Visit Limluecha told journalists of the update on Monday, reasoning that rebounding world trade, namely in such trading partners as China, Japan, the ASEAN Community (AC), Australia and Latin America, in the third quarter of this year has boosted Thai exports through both shipments by sea and air cargo services. Visit acknowledged that Thai exports have been on the rise in terms of both quantity demand and their values due to higher prices on the world markets, including exports of such commodities as refined fuel, plastic pellets, steel, sugar and rubber. Besides, there have been more purchase orders from US importers who prepared their sales for the Thanksgiving Festival in every November in advance. According to the TNSC vice chairman, total Thai export during the first nine months of this year reached over 175.44 billion US dollars, a 9.3 per cent year-on-year growth, or over 6 trillion baht, a 6.4 per cent year-on-year growth, with Thai exports in September alone totaling about 21.81 billion US dollars, their highest level in 56 months and a 12.2 per cent year-on-year growth. However, the TNSC vice chairman cautioned that there are remaining risk factors for the targeted Thai export growth, including such external factors as new policies to be introduced by newly-appointed US Federal Reserve (FED) Chairman Jerome Powell, which may result in the stronger Thai baht, and trade protectionist policies of major trading partners, namely the United States and China, as well as impacts from nuclear tensions in the Korean Peninsula, free movements of labor and a delay by the Thai government to observe the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) of the Geneva-based World Trade Organization (WTO). Forecasting that Thai exports should further expand by 5 per cent year-on-year in 2018, the TNSC vice chairman proposed that the Thai government control capital inflows, take care the Thai baht value to be stable and allow the private sector to participate in the revision of trade laws, reduce red-taped bureaucratic procedures, promote e-commerce and speed up pending free trade agreements (FTAs). (TNA)