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Thai exports hard to reach goal, says FTI

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

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

He saidthat the export turnover for the first quarter will grow no more than0.2 percent. Nonetheless, he is optimistic that the figure might grow upto 3 percent in the second quarter if the political protests don’tbecome more violent. However, Vallop is concerned that the politicalconflict will get worse during April and ultimately affect exports.

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