UTCC: 11.4% contraction in GDP forecast for 2020Thailand's economy is likely to contract by as much as 11.4% this year, its worst showing, attributed largely to the pandemic impact, volatile foreign exchange, widespread drought and the continued US-China trade spat. In April the university predicted the economy would contract by 3.4%-4.9%. The UTCC also revised its export forecast to a 10.2% dip this year from 8.8-12% contraction predicted in April. The university estimated the drought would cause 76.3 billion baht in losses to the country, mainly from sugar cane, off-season rice and tapioca. The UTCC predicted drought will cause sugar cane production to drop to 74.9 million tonnes in the 2019/20 main crop from 132 million tonnes year-on-year, with off-season rice tallying only 3.5 million tonnes of paddy from 7.4 million tonnes and tapioca falling to 28.2 million tonnes from 31.1 million tonnes.

Source: Bangkok Post August 04, 2020 00:22 UTC