Thai exports more than 10 percent higher in April

Thailand’s exports last month reached US$18.7 billion, a 10.5 percent increase year-on-year, thanks to positive performances in industrial and agro industrial products, a senior Commerce Ministry official said last week.
Vatchari Vimooktayon, permanent secretary for commerce, said exports that rose were electronics 45.2, electrical appliances 4.3, automobiles and parts 19.1, construction materials 15.8, furniture 17.1 percent, textiles 7.9, frozen seafood, canned food and processed food excluding shrimps 11.6, and frozen and processed chicken by 10.2 percent.
Exports of some agricultural products fell, including rice by 8.4 percent, rubber 8.1 percent, tapioca products 14.2 percent, and frozen and processed shrimp by 30.8 percent.
She said the satisfactory performance in April contributed to higher export volumes in the first four months of this year at US$75.67 billion, or 5.74 percent higher.
The positive export results were mainly due to expansion in the industrial sector and a slight depreciation of the baht, Vatchari said.
She called on the central bank to find appropriate measures to deal with the baht so that the Commerce Ministry achieves its 7-7.5 percent export growth target.
She said exporters of agricultural produce may have to lower their prices to stay competitive in the global market if the baht continues to surge.
Thailand’s imports in April totaled US$21.55 billion, an increase of 8.91 percent, while the trade deficit in January-April this year was US$10.76 billion, she said. (MCOT)

Hua Hin tourism expands rapidly

20% rise in available rooms expected

Hua Hin tourism has expanded rapidly, prompting a forecast of a 20-percent increase of room availability in the resort town.
Roongroj Seeluangsawat, Hua Hin-Cha am Tourism Association chairman, said the number of tourists visiting Hua Hin annually has reached 2.5 million, of whom 40 percent are foreign tourists. There are currently some 13,000 hotel rooms available in the town.
Meanwhile, Nopporn Wuttikul, mayor of Hua Hin municipality, said the city will develop a town plan and move the municipality office, public schools and provincial waterworks office to the suburbs in order to change areas in the town centre to become parking buildings and improve the town’s layout and traffic system. A budget of Bt100 million is expected for the modification.
There is also a plan to invest in water purification equipment with a budget of Bt30 million to produce enough water to meet demand, while another Bt11 million will be used to connect raw water pipelines from nearby Petchaburi province to Hua Hin for 24-hour water transport.
Closed-circuit television cameras are to be installed around the town as well to create confidence among tourists and holiday goers. (MCOT)

Thailand to regain role as world’s leading rice exporter

Permanent-Secretary for Commerce Vatchari Vimooktayon said she is certain Thailand will regain its leading position as the world’s No. 1 rice exporter this year.
Vatchari said the strong baht has affected Thai rice exports in terms of rice price direction, but she said this year she believed Thailand would be able to export 8 million tonnes as targeted.
She was positive that the country would regain its No.1 rice exporter status because there is still a high demand for rice in the world market, particularly from China, which is ordering big lots of rice from Thailand.
She said even though currently both India and Vietnam export more rice than Thailand, she believed the two countries would export less in the second half of this year, for they would have smaller rice harvests and less rice in their stocks.
The Foreign Trade Department is negotiating government-to-government (G2G) rice buying-selling contracts with interested countries in order to push Thai rice exports to reach its target this year. (MCOT)

Developing Thailand needs 1.6 million workers

Thailand’s current labor shortage will become more severe with two government mega projects needing at least 530,000 more workers, a senior Thai official said last week.
Pravit Khiengpol, Department of Employment director general, said the country will be short by 1.6 million persons in the labor force and foreign workers will have to be hired.
The planned Bt2 trillion in infrastructure development projects will need at least 450,000 workers and the Bt350 billion water management project another 80,000 laborers, he said.
The two major projects will require workers in five fields - management at 2 percent, engineering 5 percent, supervisors and skilled labor 20 percent, semi-skilled labor 36 percent and non-skilled labor 37 percent.
About 200,000-300,000 Thai workers are currently unemployed and the Labor Employment Department has set a target to provide at least 100,000 new graduates for the domestic labor market each year, he said.
He added that the Labor Department will import workers from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia to accommodate the private sector while additional workers will be hired from other countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam.
The migrant workers will mostly work in the construction and fisheries industries. (MCOT)

Thailand’s interest rate possible to maintain at 2.75%: UTCC

Thailand’s policy interest rate should remain at 2.75 percent, which is still below the 3 percent inflation, according to a leading academic.
Tanawat Polvichai, director of the economic research centre of the University of Thai Chamber of Commerce, said an interest reduction could possibly deter savings among people who may switch to riskier investments in the stock and property markets.
He said the gross domestic product (GDP) growth projection of 5.3 percent, recently announced by the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), was slightly lower than forecasted but remains higher than 5 percent.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is scheduled to meet Wednesday amid pressure for a lowered interest rate.
Tanawat, however, said pressure on the MPC has slightly subsided with the baht weakening from Bt28.50 against the dollar last month to Bt29.50 against the dollar and the central bank’s efficiency in stabilizing the Thai currency movement.
He said reducing the interest rate by 0.25 percent, if decided by the MPC, could help stimulate the country’s economy and exports.
Chao Kengchon, managing director of Kasikorn Thai Research Centre, said the baht has gradually depreciated and foreign capital inflows decelerated though the MPC has not made any decision on the interest rate.
He said the most significant impact on the baht is from the US Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing (QE) which strengthens the US dollar, if implemented.
Asia’s stock markets and bonds will become less attractive as the dollar surges, resulting in capital outflow back to the US and depreciating baht.
Chao said the Kasikorn Thai Research Centre will maintain its forecast of Thailand’s GDP growth at 4.8 percent and exports at 7 percent with optimism that the country’s economic situation will improve in the second half of this year.
Investments in the government’s Bt2 trillion infrastructure development will contribute to the country’s economic growth in the fourth quarter, he said. (MCOT)