BANGKOK, May 3 (NNN-TNA) – Thailand’s export value is expected to increase up to one percent this year, helped by improvements in key export markets, the country’s shippers’ council said, yesterday.
The country’s export, a key driver of growth, dropped 4.5 percent in the first quarter of 2023, from a year earlier, but better than the 10 percent decrease the Thai National Shippers’ Council (TNSC) projected, last month.
The TNSC downgraded this year’s export growth to 0-1 percent from 1-2 percent projected last month, due to risk factors for Thai shippers in the year’s second half, Chaichan Chareonsuk, TNSC chairman, told a news conference.
The council expects shipments to fall 2.7 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2023, before rebounding 0.6 percent in the third quarter and 12 percent in the final quarter.
A volatile global economy, caused by geopolitical conflicts, high production costs, and climate change are major risks for the country’s exporters this year, the TNSC said in a statement.
To support export, it urged the government to properly regulate energy tariffs, to help mitigate high production costs and improve Thai businesses’ competitiveness.– NNN-TNA
