Commerce shoots for monthly export value of up to $20 bn

“The country’s shipments should grow at least 4 per cent this year after the recovery in exports of many industries and to major destinations, particularly the European Union,” Srirat Rastapana, director-general of the International Trade Promotion Department, said yesterday. “The ministry will work closely with the private sector to promote exports in the remaining months and next year.” 

Export growth swung back into positive territory last month. Exports rose 3.92 per cent year on year to $20.46 billion (Bt638 billion) after declining by 1.48 per cent in July.

The ministry will not only draw up a plan to promote exports in the remaining months, but also for next year.

Shipments in 2014 should expand by at least 5 per cent, the department hopes.

In the first eight months of this year, exports increased 1.03 per cent to $152.83 billion.

The ministry will try to promote exports of the real sector – industrial and agriculture – whose prices can be controlled domestically to some extent. It is hard to manage the exports of products such as fuel and gold, which account for almost 10 per cent of total export value.

Exports of the real sector should be worth at least $19 billion a month so that overall shipments could grow by 4-5 per cent this year, Srirat said. 

According to the ministry, goods outside the controllable sector accounted for 7.8 per cent of total export value. Shipments of this type were down by 17.6 per cent year on year to $11.98 billion in the first eight months of the year. Exports of the real sector accounted for 92.2 per cent, up 3 per cent during the first eight months.

Shipments of agricultural products and food continued their decline by 1 per cent in the first eight months, mainly because of fizzling demand for rubber, rice, frozen and canned food, and shrimp.

Industrial exports rose 2.3 per cent year on year. Products that still showed improvement were automobile and parts, plastics and construction materials. However, electronic goods were still falling by 3.2 per cent.

Imports in August slipped by 2.1 per cent to $20.56 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $94.7 million.

Imports in the first eight months rose 3.1 percent to $170.98 billion. Thailand clocked a trade deficit of $18.14 billion for January-August.

Of total imports, gold in the first eight months rose 36.4 per cent to $11.56 billion in value, but dropped 0.59 per cent to 239.8 tonnes in volume.