Commerce

Bangkok (Manager Online) - Deflation would not take place because of unemployment problem and less consumers’ spending, according to the commerce ministry.

The value of bilateral trade between Thailand and Japan during the first nine months of 2008 rose 11.26 per cent year-on-year, a senior Thai Commerce Ministry official said Wednesday.

The trade ministry is hosting a workshop with private firms today to brainstorm and assess ways to push Thai exports. The agency also plans to request 1.2 billion baht in state budget to solve high living costs and farm product price drops.

Asean has achieved several key milestones - the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta), the Asean Investment Area (AIA) and Asean Industrial Co-operation (AICO) among others - during its movement toward an Asean Economic Community (AEC).

The Mall Group, the country's second-largest department store chain, will adopt new business strategies to cope with economic uncertainties this year.

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).

Opportunities to help the gem and jewelry industry to save costs, get significant bargains, rejuvenate the market, and generate new revenues are up for grabs at the upcoming 43rd Bangkok Gems and Jewelry Fair, according to trade fair organizers.

Domestic demand for air-purifiers is expected to be stagnant next year for the first time in that market's history, due to the economic and political situation.

Kasikorn Research Centre Company Limited (KRC) estimated that the best the country's exports can do next year is stay steady - with minus-five per cent growth possible because of the global economic downturn.

The global economic slowdown has forced Thailand's exports in November to decline sharply, their first fall in the past five years, a senior commerce ministry official said Monday.