Thailand’s exports will be able to grow 12 percent as targeted for this year, boosted by continued impressive growth in the first quarter, according to the Export Promotion Department.
Speaking after opening a seminar on “Incoterms 2010,” Nantawan Sakuntanak, the department’s director-general, said the country’s exports continued growing by up to 28 percent in the first quarter, particularly in the farm and industrial product sectors.
Exports expanded impressively to all destinations. Because of this, the department was confident that exports would definitely grow by 12 percent this year as targeted by Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai.
Main export destinations are ASEAN, China, and India where the population, if combined, is more than half of the world’s population.
However, she conceded that the recent earthquake and tsunami devastating Japan would affect exports and trade with Thailand over the next 1-2 months, adding that the situation should ease soon.
Global oil prices, which hover around $110 per barrel, are now are one of the key negative factors exporters are set to experience because it could fuel production costs.
The oil price hike stemmed from continued violence in the Middle East. But since the region is not a major export destination for Thailand, she believed it would not directly affect overall exports.
