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Five key markets in focus to lift flagging Thai exports


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Five key markets in focus to lift flagging Thai exports

By PHUWIT LIMVIPHUWAT
THE NATION

 

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Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit outlines plans to boost Thai exports by focusing on five key markets.

 

The Commerce Ministry will join hands with the private sector to boost Thai exports to five major markets, expecting “tangible results” within three months.

 

On Wednesday (August 14), trade officials met with private sector representatives as part of the Joint Public and Private Sector Consultative Committee to discuss ways to help Thai exports cope with the negative impacts of the trade war.

 

Private sector representatives present at the meeting came from the Thai National Shippers’ Council, the Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade of Thailand, the Federation of Thai Industries and the Thai Bankers’ Association.

 

Thai exports have been negatively affected by the ongoing US-China trade war. In the first six months of 2019, Thailand’s total exports declined by 2.91 per cent year on year, valued at US$112 billion, according to the Commerce Ministry.

 

Earlier on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump announced that he would defer imposition of a 10 per cent tariff hike on $160 billion worth of Chinese exports, which were originally part of the 10 per cent tariff increase on $300 billion worth of Chinese products, set to be implemented on September 1.

 

However, economists throughout the country have projected Thai exports to decline in 2019 largely as a result of the trade war affecting Thailand’s exports to China, which accounts for over 10 per cent of the Kingdom’s total exports.

 

Thailand saw its shipments to China in the first half of 2019 contract by 9.72 per cent year on year or close to $1.5 billion in value, according to the Thai Customs department.

 

Despite these projects, the Commerce Ministry still maintains its “working target” for exports at 3 per cent year-on-year growth, even after today’s meeting with the private sector.

 

“The Ministry of Commerce, along with the private sector, will form a working group to analyse how Thai exports can further penetrate key markets,” said Jurin Laksanawisit, the newly installed deputy prime minister and commerce minister, during a press conference after he held the committee meeting on Wednesday.

 

The minister further stated that the “high-potential-market penetration” strategy will “yield tangible results in 3 to 6 months”. However, he declined to comment on what tangible results could be expected from targeting more markets.

 

The five targeted markets include the CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) subregion, the rest of Asean, secondary cities in China, the Middle East, as well as India and South Asia.

 

These markets have shown high demand for Thai goods, giving Thai exports the potential to further penetrate these destinations and grow in value in the upcoming months, he said.

 

The working group, with representatives from the ministry and the private sector, will closely examine ways to increase Thai exports to these markets, as well as promote the goods that do particularly well for each destination, he explained.

 

For instance, Jurin continued, Thai exports of rice to Iraq have been historically strong. However, due to political reasons, Thai exports of rice to the Middle East country have reduced gradually since 2013.

 

Hence, the committee found that there was a good opportunity to revive Thai exports to Iraq in the upcoming months, he said.

 

Kitsana Vachekrilas, secretary-general of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, stated: “The private sector has been waiting for the formation of the new government for many months in the hope that a clear trade policy will emerge to boost Thai exports.”

 

Today’s meeting with the ministry has led to a public-private sector working group to solve trade issues in Thailand which may lead to promising results, he said.

 

“The private sector commends the ministry for playing an active role to boost Thai exports and looks forward to discuss further issues in the scheduled monthly Joint Public and Private Sector Consultative Committee meetings to discuss further issues,” he concluded.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/business/30374768

 

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-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-08-14
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Yeah, have meetings. Lotsa meetings. Then come out and tell people to do things that they are not doing. Like "You're growing rubber?! Don't grow rubber!" and "You're growing rice?! Don't grow rice!" Then take advantage of the strong baht to buy submarines at bargain prices.

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4 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thailand saw its shipments to China in the first half of 2019 contract by 9.72 per cent year on year or close to $1.5 billion in value, according to the Thai Customs department.

Getting to that mythical 1% growth or whatever with near -10% contraction to China is not really possible. 

This equates to -1% growth on its own and I cannot see with a high baht , where that 1% could possibly be made up 

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14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

“The private sector has been waiting for the formation of the new government for many months in the hope that a clear trade policy will emerge to boost Thai exports.”

And here is what it got:

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The working group, with representatives from the ministry and the private sector, will closely examine ways to increase Thai exports to these markets,

But regardless,

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

the Commerce Ministry still maintains its “working target” for exports at 3 per cent year-on-year growth, even after today’s meeting with the private sector. (my italics)

... meeting with the private sector will not change the ministry's expectations.

The government already has its agenda.

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18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The five targeted markets include the CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) subregion, the rest of Asean, secondary cities in China, the Middle East, as well as India and South Asia.

Good luck with that~many of these places don't have money either, and Thailand doesn't have a whole lot to offer~better get TAT involved~they seem to turn things around in a matter of hours

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