BANGKOK: Thailand’s exports are expected to grow 5 percent in April-June from the same period a year earlier, a similar pace to the first quarter, as buyers continue to build up inventory, a group of Thai shippers said on Wednesday.
But the export gains may slow in the second half of the year if Thailand is affected by U.S. trade protectionist measures, Ghanyapad Tantipipatpong, chairwoman of the Thai National Shippers’ Council, told a news conference. Thailand runs a trade surplus with the United States, and U.S. President Donald Trump in March ordered a study of the causes of U.S. trade deficits.
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“Thai exports in the second half may not be as bright as the first half,” she said, adding that’s why the council raised its 2017 export growth forecast only slightly to 2.5-3.5 percent from 2-3 percent. Thailand’s commerce ministry is aiming for export growth of 5 percent this year. In January-March, exports unexpectedly increased 4.9 percent from a year earlier. They rose 0.45 percent in the whole of 2016 after three years of contraction.
Exports account for about two-third of Thailand’s economy.
