Economy will not recover quickly: Finance Minister Arkhom
The Thai economy will not recover quickly even though exports are likely to expand, Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said on Wednesday.
He pointed out that tourism has not fully recovered yet as about 700,000 tourists entered the country in the first four months.
“We expect about 2 million tourists to visit Thailand this year compared to the previous up to 40 million annually,” he said.
“However, we believe more tourists will enter Thailand with the country fully reopening [from May 1].”
Arkhom went on to say that Thailand's economy has been affected by rising energy and fresh food prices since the beginning of the year, causing inflation to rise to 5 per cent.
He noted that energy prices have risen sharply due to the Russia-Ukraine war, but said the government had launched measures that include lowering the diesel price to mitigate the impact on the cost of living.
“However, it is necessary to spend more cash to maintain the diesel price at THB30 per litre as the oil price will keep rising,” Arkhom pointed out.
He emphasised that the Finance Ministry needs to take care of the economy while launching measures to ease the impact on citizens to prevent increased financial burden in the future.
Arkhom said the government and business sectors must adapt to a digital economy and society, climate change and an aging society in order to boost economic growth.
“However, the government will invest in infrastructure to boost the country’s competitiveness,” the minister said. “Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry will help facilitate private sector business operations,” he added.
