Thai shippers wary of terrorism in Europe
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THE Thai National Shippers' Council is keeping an eye on the terrorism situation in Europe, which could be part of the factors making exports miss their target next year.
Chairman Nopporn Thepsithar said yesterday that the council was watching conflicts among nations, including the Russia-Turkey tensions, and terrorism, which tended to spread out with more violence.
The deadly attacks in Paris have also cursed tourism in Europe.
These developments could fray the confidence of consumers and businesses across the world in the next periods.
Thailand is expected to see a contraction in exports to Europe next year.
The council was concerned over next year’s outbound shipments, which could grow less than the 2-per-cent target, amid the economic problems in Europe and weakening economies in Japan and China.
If the Thai government speeds up and balances the country’s trading partnerships with all countries, including the Trans Pacific Partnership and Asean Plus 6, exports may expand 2 per cent in 2016 as expected, he said.
Exports in October shrank 8.1 per cent, the most this year, to US$18.57 billion. They are expected to run 3 per cent below last year for the last two months of this year, or at $18 billion per month.
Thailand is expected to suffer a drop in exports of 5 per cent for the whole of 2015 to $216.15 billion. This is the sharpest fall in six years and the third straight year for such contraction.
The council cited the low prices of crude oil and commodities, the global economic slowdown and lack of improvement in the country’s poor competitiveness for the sharp shrinkage in Thai exports.
The Bank of Thailand also said that the export decline in October followed the economic slowdowns in China and Asean countries, which dampened manufacturing output and private investment.
This situation was also in line with lower-than-normal production capacity utilisation in most industries.
Thai imports were off 21.3 per cent year-on-year, the central bank said. Imports of consumer goods and raw materials excluding crude oil declined due to soft economic activities, especially in manufacturing.
Crude oil imports plunged mainly due to lower global oil prices, while machinery and equipment imports continued slumping along with domestic investment.
