According to July’s marine export index from the Thai National Shippers Council, the country’s marine export has been in decline for 2 months in a row, indicating recovering economy in trading partners.
President of the council Nopporn Thepsittha revealed that July export figures decreased by 3.38% standing at USD19 billion – a drop for the second month in a row, signaling a weak export segment.
He explained that a slowdown in Chinese, Japanese, US, EU and ASEAN economy was the main reason behind the decline.
China is one of the kingdom’s biggest trading partners with 12% of overall exports sent to that country. Mr. Nopporn estimated that Chinese economy would stabilize on the third and fourth quarters, leading possible export to USD27.4 billion of goods to China this year, a 2% increase from last year when a drop was seen in Chinese demand for rubber, chemicals, computer components, and auto parts.
He also admitted that Thailand’s 2013 economy would expand by only 3%, despite the 0.95% rise in the first half of this year. The growth figure was forecast at 4.92%. To achieve that target, the nation must be able to export USD20.4 billion of goods monthly in the second half of the year.
The Thai National Shippers Council president advised that the government rely more on ASEAN intra-regional and border trade while waiting for US and EU markets to fully recover, and improve logistic links with neighboring countries to boost export potentials.
