BANGKOK, 14 April 2013 – The Minister of Commerce plans to have a discussion with members of the private sector involved regarding the fluctuation of Thai Baht and measures to assist exporters.
According to Minster of Commerce Boonsong Teriyapirom, the meeting with the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB) will be held after Songkran holidays to find measures to help reduce impacts of the Baht fluctuation to the export sector, which he said, would experience apparent negative effects of a stronger Baht in March.
The export value in January 2013 increased by 16%; however, it turned into a negative growth in February due to the repeated fluctuation of the baht.
As for the 2nd round of the rice pledging scheme for the 2012/2013 season, the Commerce Minster revealed that more than 700,000 tonnes of paddy have so far been mortgaged to the scheme while the ministry has set a target to buy a total of 7 million tones of paddy under this scheme.
Mr. Boonsong also said his ministry would continue to monitor prices of consumer and agricultural products during Songkran festival, adding the current prices of most products were at normal levels.
