Gantry cranes rise behind stacked containers at Bangkok Port in Klong Toey. (Photo:bangkokpost.com)Bangkok (VNA) - Thailand' export turnover in US dollar fell for aseventh straight month in April, down 7.6% from a year earlier as global demandremained slow, the Thai Ministry of Commerce announced on May 30.
The decline was far more than the 2% fallforecast in a Reuters poll of economists, and came after a 4.2% drop in March.
The ministry said exports in April were valued at 21.72billion USD, compared with 27.65 billion USD in March, which was the highest in 12months.
The country posted a trade deficit of 1.47 billion USD inApril, versus a forecast deficit of 450 million USD, as imports showed a 7.3%year-on-year contraction.
In the January-April period, exports declined 5.2% from ayear earlier, with imports down 2.2% and a trade deficit at 4.52 billionUSD.
According to the Thai National Shippers Council (TNSC), the country's exports face numerous unpredictable factors, including asluggish US economy, the slow pace of China’s economic recovery and thefluctuating value of the Thai baht. Therefore, the TNSC said that it’s necessary tointensify export promotion efforts in the second half of the year, adding thatthere are still opportunities for growth, even in the US and EU.
Meanwhile, PojAramwattananont, vice-chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said the mostworrisome issue for exports is increasing production costs. Exporters havefaced rising costs from energy, electricity and now the possibility of a higherminimum wage under a new government.
The ministry said earlier that it was stillmaintaining its target of 1-2% export growth this year./.
