The appreciation of the Thai baht has affected the export of Thai garments and other industries

After the domestic political pressure eased, the baht’s exchange rate against the US dollar gradually increased. On September 13, it was close to a US dollar exchange rate of 30.70 baht, reaching the highest level in 13 years. The recent rapid appreciation of the Thai baht and the continued strong trend in the next 6-12 months are due to Thailand's current account surplus and large inflows of foreign capital into Thai capital markets. Taihua Farmers Research Center expects that the Thai baht may rise to US$30.20 baht before the end of 2010. All parties concerned that the trend of the appreciation of the Thai baht will affect the Thai exports.

Taihua Farmers Research Center believes that the analysis of the impact of the strong Thai baht on various industries must take into account other factors at the same time because of different conditions in various commodity markets, such as dependence on exports, dependence on imports, dependence on the U.S. and EU markets (US$ And the euro depreciated significantly against the Thai baht), the degree of competition in the export market, supply and demand relations, and international market competitors. Thailand’s major competitors in the international market such as Vietnam, China and India have all depreciated against Thai baht. It is worth noting that the industries affected by the appreciation of the Thai baht are mostly labor-intensive industries such as clothing, textiles, shoes, leather and furniture that are at a disadvantage compared with their competitors. The strength of the Thai baht has further exacerbated the difficulties faced by these industries. In addition, the agricultural products and food industries, which are dominated by domestic raw materials, have also been affected by the appreciation of the Thai baht, but due to the tight supply of some commodities, their impact has weakened.

The Taihua Farmers Research Center suggests that in the event that the Thai baht trend continues to increase, companies should adopt hedging tools that can prevent exchange rate and commodity price risk in the short term, such as choosing currencies appropriate for commercial transactions and exploring emerging markets for distribution. Risk; In the mid- to long-term perspective, companies should focus on improving product quality and increasing value-added products to avoid price competition. In terms of government policy, apart from maintaining the same trend of the Thai baht and regional currencies, the government may consider providing more assistance to business operators to reduce costs and accelerate infrastructure construction and import of capital goods, thereby reducing the trade deficit and delaying the appreciation of the Thai baht. .