Ms. Kanyapak Tantipipattanapong, President of the Thai National Shippers' Council (TNSC), has revealed the overall export outlook for 2018, projecting a growth rate of 5.5%, with export value estimated at around 230 billion US dollars.

      This marks a continuation of growth from 2017, which is expected to have a growth rate of about 10%. Regarding Thailand's GDP forecast, it is anticipated to expand by approximately 4%, compared to last year's expected growth of 3.8-4%.

      In 2018, industries expected to see continuous growth include electronics, automotive and automotive parts, mobile phones, and telecommunications equipment and components. However, the agricultural sector faces challenges, particularly in agricultural products, which are expected to grow significantly in volume. Therefore, farmers should enhance the value of their agricultural products through innovation, which is believed to lead to substantial growth.

       Risk factors affecting Thai exports include the fluctuating and strengthening Thai baht, which may impact exports, in contrast to the Federal Reserve's decision to raise the policy interest rate by 0.25% from 1-1.25% to 1.25-1.5%. This could reduce operators' income and result in a 5% decrease in GDP. Additionally, there are trade barriers and retaliatory measures from key trading partners, uncertainties in U.S. economic and trade policies, political conditions in Europe, international political uncertainties, and rising export costs.

      Labor issues also affect production costs for operators, especially concerning the upcoming minimum wage increase in January.

       Nevertheless, the TNSC has recommendations, suggesting that the government should stabilize the baht to prevent it from appreciating beyond key competitors, prioritize the development of workforce capabilities in the production sector to align with wage levels, and accelerate efforts to explore new markets alongside free trade negotiations with trading partners. Furthermore, infrastructure development to support logistics in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) should be expedited.

In November 2017, Thailand's exports were valued at 21.435 billion US dollars, growing by 13.4%, marking the highest growth in six years compared to the same month last year. Meanwhile, exports in Thai baht amounted to 704.899 billion baht, growing by 7.2% compared to the same period last year. As a result, exports for the first 11 months totaled 216.953 billion US dollars, growing by 10% compared to the same period last year, with exports in Thai baht for the same period valued at 7.365792 trillion baht, growing by 6.6%.