Business worried about strong baht
“The private sector wants the government
to closely oversee the baht’s movement to ensure that its will not be
too much fluctuation or too strong. The strong baht will affect the
country’s trade competitiveness,” Mrs Porntiva said on Thursday.
The commerce minister believed the
strong baht would be only short-lived as the Bank of Thailand is capable
of curbing its value. Her ministry stood by its export expansion target
for this year at 14 per cent.
The chairman of the Rice Exporters
Association, Chukiat Opaswong, predicted that if the value of baht
stands at 33 baht per US dollar, rice exports in March will go down to
650,000 tones and 600,000 tonnes in April, from 700,000 tonnes a month
in January and February.
Mr Chukiat said the country has already
lost its competitiveness in trading in white and jasmine rice because
our prices are now about $200 to $300 a tonne more expensive than those
of other Asean members.
He said rice exporters will
ask the Commerce and Finance ministries to find ways to curb the baht's
value.
“The baht is now the strongest currency
in Asean, forcing Thailand’s trade partners to ask for a price review.
There is a concern that the buyers will cancel their advance purchasing
deals in the next one or two weeks,” he stated.
Source Bangkok Post