U.S. likely to surpass China as Thailand's No. 1 export destination: think tank

A renowned think tank in Thailand has forecast that the kingdom's outward trade to the United States will likely increase substantially during the second half of this year, thus enabling the U.S. to regain its status as Thailand's No. 1 export destination.

Given that the U.S. economy and its purchases have gradually recovered since mid-2014, the U.S. should reclaim its status as Thailand's top export market in 2015, a latest report from the Kasikorn Research Centre said.

Thailand's shipments to the U.S. surpassed those to China for the first time in many years during May 2014, then again in June 2014 and January 2015, according to the report.

In 2015, shipments from Thailand to the U.S. will "expand perhaps 5 percent or between 3-7 percent year-on-year to some 25.1 billion or 24.6-25.5 billion U.S. dollars, bettering the 4.1- percent growth or 23.9 billion U.S. dollars, reported for 2014," the report said.

Major beneficiaries would "include Thai-branded jewelry, agricultural products, food, home textiles and lifestyle apparels, " while industrial exports should also perform better than in previous years, especially those that have been marketed in the U. S. for some time, such as computers, computer-related components, automobiles and automobile parts, the think tank said.

Given this, Thai exporters should seize the opportunity to penetrate the U.S. market further, it said, adding that relevant Thai agencies should accelerate plans to sustain long-term export growth in the U.S..

"This could be achieved via exporting new products or adjusting export strategies, aimed at meeting the needs of American consumers, particularly for entertainment-related devices, electrical appliances, home decorating items, festival-related products and those for the elderly," the report said. Endi