Gloomy export figures for July may force revised growth target
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THE COMMERCE MINISTRY will likely be forced to slash its export-growth target for this year from 3.5 per cent to 1.9 per cent after July's shipments continued to slide by 0.85 per cent year on year to US$18.89 billion.
“Exports dropped again last month because of declining shipments of gold, fuel and some agricultural and industrial products, mainly rubber and rubber products. The slowing recovery of the global economy and China’s policy to rely less on international trade have affected Thailand’s exports,” Duangkamol Jiambutr, deputy director-general of the International Trade Promotion Department, said Wednesday.
Exports in the first seven months of this year were down 0.42 per cent on last year to $131.6 billion, so the ministry assumes exports have a high possibility of missing the projection for the full year. However, it will wait for another month before deciding whether a revision is in order.
The Nation
