Total revenue of business enterprises in Thailand this year will increase 2.1 per cent compared to 2020, but would still be 14.6 per cent lower than in 2019, according to TMB Analytics.
Total revenue of business enterprises in Thailand this year will increase 2.1 per cent compared to 2020, but would still be 14.6 per cent lower than in 2019, according to TMB Analytics.
The businesses that have recovered will grow 2.8 per cent this year, businesses that are recovering will grow 2.5 per cent, while those that have not recovered will contract 1.2 per cent.
The recovered businesses span sectors such as food, livestock, rubber, electronics, health, IT and telecommunication, online shopping and delivery.
The businesses TMB Analytics considers as still recovering were in packaging, beverages, construction materials, chemicals, automobiles and auto parts, machine, agricultural products and energy.
Businesses yet to recover were in fields such as paper and printed media, assets, furniture, personal service, aerial transportation, fashion and tourism.
Thailand’s rice export target has been set at six million tonnes this year, the commerce ministry announced.
The target was set after talks between the Foreign Trade Department (FTD) and the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said FTD director-general Keerati Rushchano.
The target was appropriate but challenging as the Thai rice price was higher than competitors such as India and Vietnam, he said.
Other challenging factors are the goods-container shortage and waning purchasing power of Covid-hit importing countries. Keerati added that the baht exchange rate was the key to meeting the export target. The competitiveness of Thai rice rests on its high quality and on-time export delivery.
Last year Thai rice exports fell 24.54 per cent to 5.72 million tonnes, representing the lowest level in 20 years. The export value dipped 11.23 per cent to $3.727 billion.
The decline in exports last year was blamed mainly on the strengthening baht.
The country also faced competition from Chinese rice exports to South Africa. India was the world’s largest rice exporter last year, shipping 13.61 million tonnes – 5.96 million tonnes to Vietnam, 5.72 million tonnes to Thailand and 3.55 million tonnes to Pakistan.
THE NATION (THAILAND)/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
