Industrial exports to US fall in new first
ARANEE JAIIMSIN
Bangkok Post, Thailand
Exports of industrial goods to the United States have fallen in value for the first time ever, due in part to the appreciation of the baht against the dollar.
The value of industrial goods shipped to the US from January to August totalled $9.94 billion, down 5.12% from the same period last year, said Atchaka Sibunruang Brimble, the director-general of the Office of Industrial Economics.
The strong baht aside, the performance has also been affected by tougher competition from low labour-cost countries, particularly China, Mexico, Indonesia, India and Vietnam.
”We are losing market share in major export markets, not only in America, but Japan and Europe,” Mrs Atchaka said.
The decline also reflected the general slowdown of the US economy, she said.
Among the sectors showing weakness were garments, off 4.2% during the first eight months, compared with the same period last year.
However, she expected higher export volume of apparel from July to December would help narrow the decline in value to 2% for the full year.
As well, she foresees improvements next year for Thai businesses as China has been reducing subsidies on domestic production and collecting export duties from garment exporters.
”That would be a positive factor for Thai garment exporters, aside from the benefit from free trade pacts such as the Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement and the Asean Free Trade Agreement (Afta),”she said.
She said Thailand’s textile industry still had a chance to grow next year, due to the growth in the garment industries in neighbouring countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. ”They may be our competitors in garments, but they have to import textiles from us.”
Due to the high potential of the textile industry, she said, polyester manufacturers will likely raise investments to serve increasing demand next year.
Tuntex (Thailand), a major producer with a capacity of 200,000 tonnes a year, ceased business this year, resulting in constraints on the supply of polyester.
”The shrinking polyester supply in Thailand depressed the growth of textile industry by nature,” she said.
One major polyester manufacturer, which officials did not identify, reportedly plans to invest in capacity expansion of between 50,000 and 100,000 tonnes, which would lift the entire capacity in the country by 6.25% from the current total of 800,000 tonnes annually.
