Thai rice export target set at 7.5 tonnes this year, down from 2022
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2023
Thailand expects to export about 7.5 million tonnes of rice this year, down from 7.9 million tonnes last year, the Foreign Trade Department said on Tuesday.
The department’s director-general, Narong Poolpipat, said rice exports last year had exceeded the target of 7.5 million tonnes, mainly because of the depreciation of baht, which dropped to around 38 baht to the US dollar.
Last year’s rice export was 22.06% higher year on year in terms of volume, while rice export value was US$3.971 billion, up 14.67% year on year, Narong said.
He said the top five markets for Thai rice exports last year were:
– Iraq, 1.6 million tonnes, up 458%
– South Africa, 775,000 tonnes, down 2.26%
– China, 745,200 tonnes, up 18.81%
– United States, 653,000 tonnes, up 13.21%
– Benin, 320,000 tonnes, down 15.38%
Although the department eyes 7.5 tonnes of rice exports this year, it cannot not yet estimate the export value due to fluctuations in the value of the baht, Narong said.
He explained that the baht had appreciated to about 32.50-33.00 baht against the US dollar, but it was expected to depreciate to 35-40 baht by the middle of the year and appreciate again later this year.
Narong added that his department would hold several activities this year to promote rice exports, including holding the Thailand Rice Convention 2023 and sending delegations of state officials and private firms to visit trading partner nations, such as Germany, China, United Arab Emirates and Australia.
Academics call for more diversified global currency basket, less dependent on US dollar
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2023
Nongluck Ajanapanya
Asian emerging markets and developing economies should deepen regional financial market integration in order to mitigate the risk resulted from the US dollar’s dominance, experts and economists have suggested.
The remarks were part of the statement released on Monday by the Asian Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee (ASFRC) at their 35th annual meeting on “What can Asian Economies do about the USD Global Financial Cycle?” hosted by NIDA Business School in Thailand and its MSc in Corporate Finance, Investment, and Risk Management (CIFRM) program.
ASFRC members are all academics in finance and economics from the Asia Pacific. The statement aimed to persuade governments throughout Asia Pacific of the significance of diversifying the global currency basket.
Such a step will make countries in the region more resilient to external factors. They referenced the current impact on countries across the world from the US Federal Reserve raising policy rates to tame its own inflation.
“Tightening of monetary policy may be appropriate for the United States, but this exerts a recessionary tendency in the world as the United States’ tightening raises yields on US treasuries and induces capital outflows from other countries,” the statement explained.
One of the committee members, Martin Young, a professor at Massey University in New Zealand, said that the dollar remains powerful because the United States has the largest global economy.
However, in terms of cross-border trade and investment, reliance on a single currency threatens the financial market’s stability.
According to Obstfeld and Zhou’s 2022 study, despite the switch to a floating exchange rate system 50 years ago, the world remains largely on the dollar standard.
The majority of trade and invoicing is done in US dollars. The US dollar is used approximately 50% of the time in global trade invoicing, and around 90% of the time in global foreign exchange transactions where one side is in US dollars.
Martin Young
Young emphasised that the ASFRC committee has no intention of toppling the dollar. They simply require a greater balance in the global currency basket.
He declared that the dollar’s dominance in the global financial market should be reduced.
According to Maria Socorro Gochoco-Bautista of the University of the Philippines, allowing one currency to dominate the global market would inevitably have an impact on others, particularly small and open market Asian countries like Thailand and the Philippines.
Each country has its own economic cycle and development, she explained. Because countries all over the world are involved in the global supply chain and demand, the global economy may have some effects. However, the impact should not be so severe that a single government’s monetary policy deprives the others of financial stability and the ability to control their economies.
Jian-Xin Wang from the University of Technology Sydney, Australia, stated that the committee’s recommendations are a long-term process for each country to collaborate together to find a better system of global financial currency which the committee dubbed as a multi-polar currency system.
According to the committee statement, a multi-polar currency system will be better because it will be less reliant on the actions of a single monetary authority and reduce the risk of negative externalities on the rest of the world.
“The dominance of US monetary policy limits the ability of authorities elsewhere to respond to external shocks more independently under the current dominant US dollar standard,” the committee explained.
Besides encouraging Asean and other Asian economies to enhance and expand regional economic integration, the committee’s recommendations include:
● Establish a regional corporate bond market, such as the Asian Bond Market Initiative, with common issuance standards. ● Create an inter-dealer regional trading platform to provide liquidity in exchange for certain benefits such as preferential access to a regional repo market. ● Have a regional centralised counter-party for Asean names in credit default swaps. ● Create an Asean+3 zone of free capital mobility, including mutual recognition of funds and instruments from different jurisdictions. ● Remove withholding taxes on intraregional flows. ● Harmonise macro-prudential rules for managing external capital flows. ● Expand the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation into a regional repo market to provide additional liquidity on a daily basis rather than just during a crisis. ● Central banks could agree to accept cross-border collateral in the form of Asean+3 government and corporate bonds. ● With the help of multilateral institutions such as the Asian Development Bank, build regional financial infrastructure to facilitate regional market integration. ● Encourage the use of regional currencies through bilateral agreements. ● Increase local risk management capacity at the firm level, as part of central bank initiatives to encourage the use of fintech in transactions. ● Use digital currencies and distributed ledger technologies to make cross-border payments and settlements easier, faster and more secure.
Young expected that these suggestions would encourage Asia Pacific governments to adopt a multi-polar currency system. He believes that while the system may not be implemented in the next 10 years, Asia Pacific countries will eventually achieve the goal if they begin taking decisive actions.
Other panel members this time included Qian Sun of Fudan University in China, David K. Ding of Singapore Management University, Robin K.Chou of National Chengchi University in Taiwan, Aekkachai Nittayagasetwat of NIDA Business School, Sunti Tirapat of NIDA Business School, and Kridsda Nimmanunta of NIDA Business School in Thailand.
Thai tourism industry ups forecast to 30 million foreign arrivals this year
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2023
Thailand’s tourism industry expects foreign arrivals to exceed 30 million this year, significantly higher than government estimates of 25-27.5 million.
Making the forecast on Tuesday, the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) predicted foreign and domestic tourists would generate over 3 trillion baht in revenue this year.
However, TCT president Chamnan Srisawat warned the huge volume of customers will pose challenges for the Thai tourism industry, which is still recovering from the ravages of Covid-19.
Most tourism businesses are still suffering liquidity and labour shortages, he explained, while some are missing out on new opportunities.
TCT is tackling the problems by cooperating with the Office of SMEs Promotion to help entrepreneurs tap new trends like wellness- and metaverse-based tourism, he said.
On the liquidity front, it is liaising with the Government Savings Bank and National Credit Bureau for access to soft loans for tourism operators.
Finally, the TCT is collaborating with the Labour Ministry, Vocational Education Commission and Thailand Professional Qualification Institute to fill gaps in the tourism labour market.
About 86% of workers have now returned to the tourism industry after the Covid downturn, said Pakakrong Theparak, a tourism expert at Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya.
Only 13% of tourism-related businesses plan to recruit employees in the first quarter of this year, with demand for workers strongest among spa/massage operators, followed by entertainment venues.
Many businesses had been forced to increase employee hours, allow more overtime and offer higher wages, she added.
Most operators plan to hike the price of their products and services in the first quarter, especially restaurants, Pakakrong said.
Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn, president of Association of Thai Travel Agents, agreed that foreign arrivals this year could exceed 30 million.
He cited the return of Chinese tour groups from February 6.
“However, China’s economy has suffered from a prolonged Covid-19 crisis, so the number of Chinese visitors must be monitored quarterly,” he said, adding that he expected foreign arrivals from China to jump in the third quarter.
However, Sisdivachr said recent scandals involving Thai police had damaged confidence in Thailand’s tourism industry. He cited police extortion of a Taiwanese actress and a police VIP siren service for a Chinese tourist, urging the government to tackle such abuses urgently. He also asked authorities to reduce queues at immigration checkpoints.
Duopoly warning for Thai e-commerce market after JD Central pulls out
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2023
The founder of Tarad.com has urged the competition regulator to investigate whether Thailand’s e-commerce market will become a duopoly when JD Central bows out in March, leaving Lazada and Shopee to dominate the scene.
JD Central announced on Monday it will stop operating in Thailand from March 3, though customer deals will be honoured until March 31.
Pawoot Pongvitayapanu, who founded e-commerce website Tarad.com in 2001, said on Monday that the Trade Competition Commission of Thailand (TCCT) must guard against unfair market conditions that damage consumer interests.
A duopoly in e-commerce would likely have a more severe effect on sellers and customers than retail channels, he said.
“Having only two major players will limit the choices for sellers and customers, while platform operators can pressure sellers into following their policy.”
Lazada raised the fee for sellers on its platform only last year, Pawoot pointed out.
Shopee and Lazada are Thailand’s top two online shopping platforms, dominating the market with an average of 63.1 and 50.3 million visitors per month, respectively. JD Central ranks 8th with around 2 million visitors per month.
JD Central was launched in 2018 by Thailand’s Central Group and Chinese e-commerce operator JD.com. A source said that Central, which had invested 17.5 billion in the platform, has decided to pull out.
Fierce competition between giant players in Thailand’s e-commerce market also saw Japan’s Rakuten and South Korea’s 11Street withdraw in 2016 and 2018 respectively.
EC seeks Google’s help to raise awareness on election, restrict access to fake news
MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 2023
The Office of the Election Commission (EC) on Monday sought help from Google Thailand to help launch awareness campaigns about the upcoming election and restrict access to fake news.
EC secretary-general Sawaeng Boonmee said he sought the help during a meeting with representatives from Google Thailand.
Phermsak Lilakul, Google Thailand’s government affairs and public policy manager, led a team of staff to meet Sawaeng at the EC head office to find out about the preparations and strategies for holding the upcoming general election.
During the meeting, Phermsak briefed Sawaeng about Google Thailand’s operations that could help the EC in organising the election.
Sawaeng expressed confidence that the cooperation from Google would make the upcoming election more trustworthy and receive more public acceptance.
House can only be dissolved after EC draws up new constituencies: Wissanu
MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 2023
The Election Commission (EC) has to first finish marking out 400 constituencies before the House of Representatives can be dissolved, Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam said.
Wissanu was speaking to reporters after meeting EC Office secretary-general Sawaeng Boonmee at Government House on Monday.
He said Sawaeng informed him that the EC will require at least 45 days to prepare for the general election because another 50 new constituencies need to be created in line with the new MPs election act that went into effect on Saturday.
“Apart from increasing the number of constituencies from 350 to 400, the population in some provinces has risen, while it’s dropped in others. This affects the drawing up of constituencies,” Wissanu said.
He also said that the newly outlined constituencies will then be reviewed by provincial election committees and governors before public hearings are held.
“The provincial election committees will also have to listen to the opinions of political parties that will contest in the provinces. This public hearing process will take about a month,” Wissanu said.
He reckoned that the process, including public hearings, will take all of February, after which the prime minister can dissolve the House of Representatives.
The deputy PM also said he will inform the Cabinet on Tuesday of his discussion with the EC secretary-general.
Wissanu reiterated that the House could be dissolved any day as long as the drawing of 400 constituencies is completed, because if the House is dissolved first, the election process will have to start in line with the law, and the EC may not have enough time to prepare for the election.
The election has tentatively been scheduled for May 7.
The Election Commission said on Monday it needs at least 45 days to prepare for the general election once the House term ends, in line with two new relevant organic laws.
EC secretary-general Sawaeng Boonmee was speaking to reporters after meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam for an hour at Government House.
The MPs election act and the political parties act took effect on Saturday, laying the legal foundation for the EC to hold an election. The EC has tentatively scheduled May 7 as election day provided the House of Representatives completes its four-year term on March 22.
Sawaeng said the 45-day period is required by election law, and dismissed rumours that it was designed to help Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha.
Asked to comment on allegations that the EC was buying time to allow Prayut’s United Thai Nation (UTN) Party to prepare for the national poll, Sawaeng replied: “People can say anything they like, but the EC works for Thailand.”
He said his talk with Wissanu, the government’s legal expert, was aimed at ensuring the election went smoothly.
Sawaeng said the EC had no way of knowing whether the prime minister would dissolve the House early on March 15, as speculated, but it would still need 45 days after House dissolution to get everything prepared to hold the election.
He said the EC would try to finish drawing constituency boundaries as soon as possible and is confident that all parties will have candidates in place for the registration period.
Sawaeng said he had also met with the Internet Law Reform Dialogue (iLaw), a Thai human rights NGO that campaigns for democracy.
Meanwhile, a full meeting of the Election Committee had been called for Monday afternoon, when it would launch final preparations for the election.
Thailand mulls tighter regulations for possession of amphetamine
MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 2023
The Public Health Ministry is preparing a revised ministerial regulation on the possession of amphetamine tablets for the Cabinet to review.
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Monday that the draft regulation stipulates that a person caught with one tablet of amphetamine will be considered an addict, while one with two or more tablets will be considered a dealer.
Anutin said the regulation is being prepared by a committee reviewing rehabilitation for drug addicts that he chairs.
The draft ministerial regulation aims to deal with drug dealers who take advantage of current regulations’ loopholes, he said. The regulation stipulates that a person caught with no more than five amphetamine tablets will be considered a drug addict.
Asked if the amendment will help end the scourge of drugs in Thailand, Anutin said related agencies have discussed this issue a great deal, especially the impact drugs have on children, families and society.
Anutin Charnvirakul
“The reason [behind proposing the draft ministerial regulation] is that we need strict measures and prove that legal procedures are effective,” he said, adding that there is no space in prisons to detain people involved in narcotics-related crimes.
He said the police are responsible for legal procedures, while the Public Health Ministry will seek funds for rehabilitating drug addicts.
Three more smart piers to be opened in 2023, as part of 29 planned by 2025
MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 2023
Three more smart piers will be opened by this year, namely Rama VII, Tha Tien and Kiakkai, deputy government spokesperson Tipanan Sirichana said on Monday.
She said the project to build 29 smart piers across Greater Bangkok at a total cost of 942 million baht aims to facilitate travel and tourism.
She added that this project is in line with the government’s 20-year national strategy, which aims to make Thailand a developed country with security, prosperity and sustainability without leaving anyone behind.
Tipanan Sirichana
“Six smart piers were opened between 2019 and 2021, namely Marine Department, Saphan Phut, Nonthaburi, Tha Chang, Sathorn and Payap,” she said.
She added that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had presided over the opening ceremony of two smart piers on December 23 last year, namely Rajinee and Bang Pho.
She expects the remaining 18 smart piers, namely Rama V, Phra Pinklao, Pak Kret, Si Phraya, Kheaw Khai Ka, Krung Thon Bridge, Prannok, Thewet, Oriental, Ratchawong, Pibulsongkram 2, Wat Tuek, Pibulsongkram 1, Wat Khema, Wat Soi Thong, Wat Thepakorn, Wat Thepnahree and Rot Fai, to be opened by 2025.
“Once smart piers are opened, the number of passengers is expected to increase to 53,000 people daily by 2027,” she said.
Apart from construction of 29 smart piers, she said the government is also promoting the use of electric ferries to save energy, reduce air pollution and mitigate impact on environment.
These moves are in line with the government’s plan to achieve carbon neutrality and net-zero carbon emission goals by 2050 and 2065, respectively, she added.
Buddhist monks, novices can pick up vocational skills in Ayutthaya
MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 2023
Students at a vocational college in Ayutthaya do not wear blue or grey, instead, their uniforms are a bright saffron – the same colour as Buddhist monks’ robes.
This vocational school in Ayutthaya’s Bang Pa-in district is unlike any other, as it was specially created to impart vocational skills to monks and novices.
The College of Skills Enhancement for Monks and Novices was set up by Wat Niwet Thammaprawat Ratchaworawihan in 2016 to mark the 60th birthday of His Majesty King Rama X, while he was still the Crown Prince.
The temple, which came under the Royal Patronage of the Crown Prince, consulted the National Buddhism Office, Culture Ministry and the Office of the National Vocational Education Commission about opening a college to enhance the skills of monks and novices.
The college provides a technical diploma and a higher diploma. For the first semester in 2016, 109 monks and novices enrolled to study one of the five courses on offer, including welding, computers, mechanics, industrial technology and computer games and animation.
The college turned to other educational institutions and businesses to seek teachers.
This year, the National Buddhism Office announced that three courses would be available for the technical diploma, namely welding, mechanics and computers.
For the higher certification, three other courses are available, namely mechanics, industrial technology and computer games plus animation.
Monks and novices can apply for the course at the college website (admission.vec.go.th) or show up in person. Applications can be submitted until April 30.
Although the department eyes 7.5 tonnes of rice exports this year, it cannot not yet estimate the export value due to fluctuations in the value of the baht, Narong said.
Martin Young
Anutin Charnvirakul
Tipanan Sirichana
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