The Commerce Ministry remains confident that exports will fare better this year than private sector estimates.
Speaking after a joint meeting with senior ministry officials, provincial commercial officials and commercial counsellors from 58 overseas offices, permanent commerce secretary Keerati Rushchano said the ministry still believes shipments will contract by less than 2% this year.
The Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking lowered its export outlook for this year to a contraction of 1-2%, from a contraction of 0.5-2%, while the Thai National Shippers' Council (TNSC) downgraded its export forecast to a contraction of 1% from a range of -0.5 to 1% growth, citing weak global demand.
"The ministry expects Thai exports to continue improving during the final three months of this year, resulting in a smaller contraction for 2023 than was previously projected," said Mr Keerati.
"Factors contributing to the positive trend include collaboration between the government and the private sector to address export challenges and increase shipment activities, as well as higher imports of agricultural and food products because of drought conditions, stable exchange rates, and stocking up of inventory ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays."
The ministry recently reported the country's exports increased for a second consecutive month in September, up by 2.1% year-on-year to US$25.5 billion, while imports fell by 8.3% to $23.4 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $2.09 billion.
For the first nine months of the year, Thai exports fell by 3.8% to $213 billion, while imports decreased by 6.0% to $219 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $5.83 billion.
According to Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who chaired the meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin issued an urgent directive to convene a meeting in Thailand of commercial counsellors from around the world on Nov 21-23 to help ramp up promotional activities to increase investment and tourism, apart from trade.
The aim is to organise a workshop to stimulate trade, foreign investment and tourism as quickly as possible.
On Nov 10, the ministry is scheduled to hold a joint meeting with the private sector, including representatives from the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Thai Industries, and the TNSC to evaluate next year's export targets.
In the joint meeting with the prime minister, representatives from the Board of Investment and Thai ambassadors in foreign countries are scheduled to attend, as the premier wants the Thai group to work proactively to address problems directly and find new ways to increase efficiency and look forward, using tools to ensure successful collaboration, said Mr Phumtham.
"At this meeting, the prime minister will assign policies to promote collective development and conduct workshops together to expand the country's proactive role, proposing and listening to policies for effective implementation," he said.