Exports seen as withstanding strong 

Officials from the leading financial agencies told a seminar that the country’s export performance was affected more by the purchasing power of trading partners and the state of production structures within Thailand.
Vachira Arromdee, BOT assistant governor for its financial markets operations group, said that while exchange rates played a role in export performance, other issues, such as liquidity, were also important.
 “From 2005-2009 when the baht depreciated, Thai exports went well, given the global economy's satisfactory growth,” she said at an Export-Import Bank of Thailand seminar titled “Baht appreciation, how much businesses will resist?” “However, from 2013-2015 when the baht depreciated, Thai exports did not improve, reflecting that Thai exports did not depend solely on exchange rates, but on our trading partners' purchasing power.”
Soraphol Tulayasathien, director of the Macroeconomic Policy Bureau of Fiscal Policy Office, said that it was clear to see that Thai exports and the economies of Thailand's trading partners tended to move in the same direction. 
Recently, the baht and exports might not have been moving in the same direction, he said, attributing the currency’s appreciation more to capital inflows rather than export trends.
The baht went to 28.66 per US dollar in 2003 and “we could survive then”. Therefore, “it's not terrible for the (Thai) currency now as it has appreciated less,” he said. This year the baht has risen from 36 to the US dollar to about 34.
Thai exports are in the first year of a recovery, Vachira said, but challenges remain with the uncertainty over global economic expansion, the risk from global trade barriers, rapidly changing consumer demand and exchange rate fluctuations.
“What we want to see is hedging against foreign exchange risks. We're not concerned much about large operators, given their normal hedging activities. But small operators are still paying less attention to hedging,” Vachira said. 
Only 25 per cent of small operators hedge against foreign exchange risks, compared with 40 per cent of all operators taking on hedging, she said.
Soraphol shares this view on the advantages of hedging against exchange risks, and urged all operators to improve their production efficiency to achieve sustainability in export performance and international competitiveness.
Sukchai Wijaithammarit, director of the Federation of Thai SMEs, said: “Small export-oriented businesses may find some impacts which have not yet been severe.” But the director urged government agencies step up promotions on the benefits of hedging.
 Boonkit Jitngamplang, chairman of the Gem and Jewellery Industry Club, said his gem business imported raw materials and this would help mitigate some currency risks. But he still pays attention to hedging.
“We are a seller and want a profit from product sales, not from FX gains. Don't speculate on currencies. It's safest to hedge on only our transactions,” he said.
The most risk for sellers is default on payment, he said, urging them to take up product insurance aside from hedging against foreign exchange risks.