THE NEXT governor of the Bank of Thailand yesterday urged the export sector to focus on the Chinese, Indian and Asean markets since they still enjoy high demand and rising purchasing power.

Veerathai Santiprapob said China, India and regional integration would continue to present opportunities for Thai goods while other markets were facing challenges from the global slowdown, ageing populations and lower purchasing power.

Thai exports have lost steam during the past several years as there have been no big investment projects coming into the Kingdom because of the lack of confidence in the political sector and the flood problem.

Neighbouring countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia have drawn more big investment instead of Thailand, he told a Commerce Ministry seminar on coping with challenges to sustainable trade growth.

Only small investments have come into the country, so Thailand needs to promote more big investment to support the export sector for the long term.

Thailand also needs to strengthen ties with Asean countries to promote itself as a trading nation so that exports will grow sustainably, he said.

Thailand should have a product champion to promote stronger growth of each supply chain, Veerathai said.

Each government agency should reduce the steps in solving trade obstacles. Thailand has faced delays in solving trade problems as it needs to set up many working committees, which have caused inefficiency in problem-solving, he added.

Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn said that to drive trade, the ministry's agencies would focus on drawing up policies for the short, medium and long terms, outlining active export-promotion plans for a particular market, and supporting clusters to foster the development of Thai products from upstream to downstream.

The ministry will not only focus on driving exports of a particular product, but also related service and supply-chain industries, she said. Some products and services that will be promoted are healthcare products and beauty service, hotel chains, medical care, and retail and franchise businesses.

The Thai National Shippers Council predicts worsening exports this and next year due to tougher competition.

Chairman Nopporn Thepsithar said exports could face a contraction of 4.5-5 per cent instead of the 4.2 per cent that was forecast for this year.

"Next year's shipments could even go down from this year, as many countries will launch monetary measures to cause exchange rates to fluctuate.

"The yuan depreciation will also challenge Thai exports as the Chinese market, which is one of Thailand's major markets, could reduce its imports and rely more on domestic consumption.

"Asean markets could also turn to importing cheaper products from China instead of Thailand," he said.

Vice chairman Paiboon Ponsuwanna expects the government's new economic team to draw up a long-term plan to promote research and development and promote Thailand as a trading nation.

Source:- nationmultimedia.com