BANGKOK, Sept 20 (TNA) – Thai exports contracted 4
percent in August amid negative global factors and stronger baht, the Commerce
Ministry reported.
Pimchanok Vonkorpon, director-general of the Ministry’s
Trade Policy and Strategy Office, told a press conference on Friday that
Thailand export value dropped to US$21.91 billion in August.
For the past eight months of 2019, the country exported
US$166.09 billion worth of goods, representing a 2.2 percent drop, she said.
The Ministry maintained its export target at 3 percent, she
said, as it implemented export promotion measures such as directing exports to
new markets and boosting trade major trading partners.
Pimchanok attributed the export drop to uncertainty stemming
from the US-China trade disputes and sluggish economy of Thailand’s trading
partners.
The baht’s appreciation had affected Thai agricultural
exports such as rice after buyers turned to other rice producers, she
said. The Ministry expected Thai rice
export this year would be lower than 10 million tons, added Pimchanok. (TNA)
