Somkid challenges shippers with 5% growth target
The government has set a lofty target of 5% export growth this year, well outstripping the projection of 2.9% by the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB).
Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, who led a joint meeting with Thai commercial counsellors worldwide yesterday, said the Commerce Ministry has raised its export growth target to 5% this year from 3% earlier.
“The target is a new challenge for Thailand and responsible authorities,” he said. “We expect hefty demand for consumer products in emerging markets while oil prices are increasing.”
The NESDB said yesterday the export value of goods in US dollar terms is predicted to expand by 2.9% this year, improving from zero growth in 2016.
The prediction is also higher than a previous projection of 2.4% as the export price assumption was increased following rising oil prices.
Exports of services are also projected to grow because of expanding income from tourism. The export quantity of goods and services is forecast to grow by 2.6% in 2017, up from a 2.1% gain in 2016.
The import value of goods in US dollar terms is projected to grow by 5.5%, compared with a drop of 4.7% in 2016, increased from a previous projection of 4.5%.
Th change is because of an increase of t he import price assumption from 2.5-3.5% in the last projection to 3-4%, and a rise of the exports and public investment forecast, meaning demand for imports will increase.
Taking into account service payments, the import volume of goods and services is projected to grow by 3.7%, compared with 1.4% growth in 2016.
The trade balance is projected to register a surplus of US$32.2 billion, down from $35.8 billion in 2016. This is mainly because import value is expected to increase at a faster pace than export value. The current account is projected to register a surplus of $39.5 billion, or 9.4% of the GDP.
Mr Somkid said the government needs to work harder to usher in economic growth of 3.5-4% this year as the global economy is expected to improve.
He reiterated his call for the Commerce Ministry to push strategic partnership talks in tandem with free trade agreement negotiations with potential partners such as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, China and South Korea.
Trade negotiators were ordered to speed up talks under the 16-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership framework.
Vallop Vitanakorn, vice-president of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), said 5% export growth is quite a challenging target, citing the Thai National Shippers’ Council export growth projection of only 2% for this year.
The FTI projects export growth of 2.53.5%, while the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking forecasts growth of only 1-3%.