The Office of Trade Policy and Strategy is will propose, to the Joint Public-Private Sectors Committee in mid-January, export value targets for this year in order to achieve the economic growth rate projection of at least 2.8% for 2020.
The office’s director-general, Ms. Pimchanok Vonkorpon, said yesterday (Monday) that the office would recommend which Thai products should be promoted for export and the monthly amounts, in order to achieve the export targets. She explained that the recommendations from the office were based on assessments of the demand for each product from Thailand’s 18 main trading partners, adding that these countries have demands for some products which they also import from Thailand’s competitors, including raw rubber and rubber
products from China.
She said that Thailand must try harder to convince these countries to buy from Thailand and that Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanavisit could play an important role in this endeavour. Thailand’s lead export items for this year include:
Rubber products for markets in the US, China, Vietnam, South Korea, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Cambodia ad Saudi Arabia
Air-conditioners and spare parts for markets in Japan, Vietnam, United Arab Emirates and France
Fresh, frozen and dried fruits for potential markets in China, US, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan
Cosmetics, soap and skin care products for potential markets in Japan, the Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia and Malaysia
Animal feeds for US, Malaysia, Australia, India and Taiwan
Furniture for US, China, Malaysia and Vietnam
Kitchenware, household and table set items for US, China and Denmark; frozen chicken for Japan, UK China, South Korea and Hong Kong
Clothing for the US, UK, Japan, Belgium and Cambodia
Ms. Pimchanok admitted, however, that the unusually strong baht still poses an obstacle to Thai exports, especially agricultural products.
