The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) has predicted that the country’s exports will decline this year due to possible violence during April as a result of the ongoing political protests.

Vallop Vitanakorn, Vice Chairman of the FTI, stated that in order for Thailand’s export growth to reach the 5 percent projected target, the total export earnings for each month must reach at least 20 billion USD.

He said that the export turnover for the first quarter will grow no more than 0.2 percent. Nonetheless, he is optimistic that the figure might grow up to 3 percent in the second quarter if the political protests don’t become more violent. However, Vallop is concerned that the political conflict will get worse during April and ultimately affect exports.

The FTI Vice Chairman added another problem that will affect exports is the declining flow of investments. Around 500,000 investors are also waiting for the Board of Investment (BOI) to approve their projects. Unfortunately, these investors may be unable to renew their contracts to continue projects as the government hasn’t designated a new board yet.-VNA