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Thailand: FTI retains hope for GDP potential
The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) believes Thailand still has a chance to see 2.5-2.6% economic growth this year if the ongoing outbreak ends within March.
The country may see lower figures if the government, which began relaxing measures against the the outbreak on Monday, fails to contain the spread, which is causing several hundreds of new daily infections mostly among factory workers in Samut Sakhon.
FTI vice-chairman Kriangkrai Tiannukul said food processing should be the first industry the public and private sectors must deal with to alleviate worries over food safety.
The industry is closely related to export and is among key economic drivers in the country.
“Samut Sakhon is a major manufacturing base and should be the first province to help the country build confidence among exporters and investors,” said Mr Kriangkrai.
FTI expects Thailand’s export sector this year will increase by 4% this year, but its prediction will depend on how serious the new outbreak will be.
According to the Commerce Ministry, exports are expected to achieve 4% overall growth by the end of this year in line with projections by other public agencies and the private sector.
Many trading partners are not enforcing as strict measures as those used during the 2020 outbreak in order to avoid further impact to their economies.
The Bank of Thailand is waiting for economic data from the National Economic and Social Development Council before any revisions to its economic growth forecasts.
The central bank forecasts the economy will contract by 6.6% in 2020, then return to 3.2% growth this year.
Based on the central bank’s economic survey during the first two weeks of this month, any improvement in economic activities will be delayed for a few months because of the new infections.
The group and state authorities are also collaborating to support domestic manufacture of refrigerators to store Covid-19 vaccines at 2-8°C, building them at half the price of imported cold storage facilities.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2060927/fti-retains-hope-for-gdp-potential