Thai Deputy Prime Minister and commerce minister Jurin Laksanawisit speaks at Wednesday’s press conference. MCOT
Thailand's exports recorded eight per cent growth in January, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce Jurin Laksanawisit said on March 2.
Jurin and Boonyarit Kalayanamit, the permanent secretary for Commerce, held a press conference at the commerce ministry to announce the export figures for January.
Jurin said the export figures for January 2022 came out late because the Customs Department was revising its HS (harmonised system) code, which has to be revised every five years.
The minister said exports grew by eight per cent in January with a total value of 708.31 billion baht ($21.8 billion).
The top 10 markets with most growth are: India (31.9 per cent), Russia (31.9 per cent), the UK (29.7 per cent), South Korea (26.8 per cent), the US (24.1 per cent), Canada (13.6 per cent), ASEAN (13.2 per cent), China (6.8 per cent), Latin America (five per cent) and the EU (1.4 per cent).
Jurin said the country enjoyed growth mainly because his ministry has been working closely with the private sector to boost exports.
Moreover, the manufacturing sector was expanding globally, which was reflected in the Global Manufacturing Index that was above 50 points for 19 consecutive months.
Another factor was the fact that the shortage of containers at the Laem Chabang deep sea port and Bangkok Port has eased, Jurin said. He said the private sector and US authorities have been working night and day and on holidays to speed up clearance of goods so the containers could be recycled for use for exports.
Jurin added that the figure was much higher than the 0.3 per cent growth in January 2021.
The ministry maintained its export target for this year of three-to-four per cent growth despite the Russia-Ukraine war, Jurin said.
The minister said the permanent secretary has been assigned to discuss the situation related to the war with the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Thai Industries, and the Thai National Shippers’ Council on measures to mitigate the impact of the war.
Jurin said the discussion concluded that the current situation would not much affect Thailand’s exports because exports to Russia constituted only 0.38 per cent of all export figures and only 0.04 per cent to Ukraine.
He said the conflict could affect in the long run due to rising cost because of increasing oil prices.
The meeting discussed that if some ports in Russia and Ukraine remain closed because of the war, new ports would have to be found and the shipping costs would rise.
The meeting also realised that the war could affect the prices of imported materials, such as steel for making cans and for construction and grains for making animal feed, as Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of wheat.
The meeting also discussed a measure for Thailand to seek new markets in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America to substitute markets in Russia and Ukraine.
Jurin said the meeting also discussed finding alternate markets where Thailand could replace Russia and Ukraine. For example, Thailand could try to export tapioca to China to replace corn from Ukraine or export rubber products to the US to replace products from Ukraine.
Jurin said he had told the permanent secretary to work closely with the three organisations to find measures to mitigate the impact from the war.
THE NATION (THAILAND)/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
