The ongoing global economic slump is expected to impact Thailand's food exports in 2009 after damaging the Thai economy in the last quarter of 2008, according to Yuthasak Supasorn, director of the National Food Institute (NFI).
If the world economy grows two per cent as projected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Thailand's food exports will decline about 3.80 per cent or from 2008 to Bt760 billion in value, Mr. Yuthasak said.
In the worst case scenario, if the global economy expands only 1.2 per cent in 2009, food exports by Thailand could fetch Bt720 billion in value, or contracting 8.86 per cent from 2008, he said.
Food exports by the kingdom were affected during the last quarter of 2008 due to the global economic meltdown and it is expected that the country could earn about Bt790 billion last year, up 25 per cent in value from 2007, Mr. Yuthasak said.
"Although exports of food would contract, it is still better than other industries," Mr. Yuthasak observed. "I hope that the situation won't be as bad as many have worried."
