Start planning for next year: govt

Meanwhile, private exporters from each sector have urged the government to draw up plans for promoting exports next year, which said it was too late for this year.
Vallop Vitanakon, vice chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), said importers had already made their orders for the final quarter through the year-end festive season. The government should now work closely with private enterprises to voice their concerns and strategies to boost exports in 2014, he said.
Vallop expects that shipments this year will grow by only 2-3 per cent over 2012 figures, but next year should be better if the government and private enterprise work together.
However, he said Thailand would in the future not enjoy the export growth it has seen in the past, as many Thai and foreign enterprises would invest more in other countries, especially Asean. Export figures would grow more in neighbouring countries because they still have cheap labour, and benefit from the Generalised System of Preferences developed nations employ to help low-income countries. Low-paying industries that have moved to other Asean countries such as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam are garments, footwear, rice, and food processing.
Chanin Jitkomut, president of the Thai Footwear Association, said footwear enterprises had tried to promote growth by shipping more footwear parts, as these are easier to sell amid slowing demand in many countries. He said many local footwear companies had invested in other Asean countries to avoid having to pay the better wages now enjoyed in Thailand.
Taweekij Jatujarernkhun, vice president of the FTI and president of TK Garment, said many enterprises had relocated their plants to neighbouring countries as a strategy to cope with the rising cost of production in Thailand.
A report from the International Trade Promotion Department showed that Thai trade counsellors overseas had all lowered their shipment targets for this year, but had a positive outlook for next year.
The Commerce Ministry has cut 2013 export-growth forecasts for most markets. Exceptions are Japan and South Korea, for which targets are maintained at 5 per cent, South Asia at 5 per cent, the Middle East at 5 per cent and Australia at 20 per cent.
The growth target for shipments to the European Union had also been maintained at 5 per cent as there were signs of an economic recovery in that market. The forecast for North America, however, has been cut to 2 per cent from 5 per cent.
The ministry’s forecast for growth in exports to Africa was increased from 5 per cent to 7 per cent. But the outlook for Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was lowered from 12 to 10 per cent.
The export-growth forecast for China, including Hong Kong, was cut from 8 per cent to 3 per cent, and for Latin America cut from 10 per cent to 6 per cent.
Meanwhile the figure for Asean, which was previously tipped to see 13.7-per-cent growth in shipments, is now 9.3 per cent.
In 2014, the ministry projects that exports to North America will grow by 3 per cent, to Latin America by 10 per cent, to the EU by 5 per cent, to Russia and the CIS 10 per cent, to China including Hong Kong 5 per cent, to Japan 6 per cent, to South Korea 5 per cent, to Australia 15 per cent, to South Asia 10 per cent, to Asean 10 per cent, to the Middle East 9 per cent, and to Africa 10 per cent.