BANGKOK, 24 October 2013 The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce has expressed its confidence that the country’s export will grow a mere 2 percent at best this year despite the 4 percent growth projection by the Commerce Ministry.
According to Dr. Aat Pisanwanich, Director of the Center of International Trade Studies, the UTCC expects the Thai export growth for the year 2013 to be under 2 percent, judging from the past statistics compiled during the first 8 months, which showed that Thailand has only seen a 1 percent increase so far, much lower than the Commerce Ministry’s forecast of 4 percent.
However, the director still sees a positive trend in the last quarter of this year, saying the last four months is usually the busiest time for the exporting industry as more orders from the importers are expected, thanks to the US’s economic recovery. He, however, warned all sides to keep an eye on capital fluctuation as it could swing the Thai currency.
About 2 weeks ago, the US Congress decided to pass the bill to raise the country’s debt ceiling and end the 2-week government shutdown. The “American Shutdown” is a situation where funds for government operations fail to get a nod from the Congress, forcing the government to shut down its services beginning from October 1st, 2013.
