The Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) announced on December 20, 1999 that Thai economy has shown the continuing recovery. The Quarterly Gross Domestic Product of Thailand in the third quarter of 1999 expanded by 7.7 percent which was higher than 3.3 percent in the second quarter, and the Consumer price Index (CPI) decreased by 1 percent in the third quarter.
Mr. Sansern Wongcha-um, Secretary-General of NESDB, said that, the Quarterly Gross Domestic Product of Thailand in the third quarter of 1999 which increased by 7.7 percent indicated that Thai economy has continuously recovered. It was the result of the expansion in manufacturing sector, such as food and drink, motor vehicles, non-metallic product and office and accounting machinery, which increased by 17.4 percent, comparing to the same period in 1998.
Furthermore, there were other sub-sectors which also in creased. Mining and Quarrying Sector expanded by 7.1 percent due to theincrease in electricity demand. Whole-sale and Retail Trade expanded by 7.2 percent according to the situation of industrial sector's production and higher National Expense. Hotels and Restaurants increased by 9.5 percent compared to the same period of the same quarter, which was resulted from the increase of tourists by 11.1 percent.
However, some manufacturing sectors experienced contraction, such as Agriculture. This sector contracted by 0.2 percent, comparing to the year 1998, due mainly to the decline in the production of crops and agricultural services. The main reducing crops were paddy, corn, rubber and soybean. The production of paddy contracted by 11.8 percent as a result of the government policy in reducing the second crop growing of the season. The rebber production reduced by 30.4 percent because of the decline in the domestic and export prices.
The Construction Sector Continuously contracted by 0.6 percent, which was less than in the second quarter at 18.4 percent. The Financial Services contracted by 9.2 percent, which was less than 29.7 percent in the previous quarter. It was the result of the improvement in the operation of financial institutions.
The Secretary-General explained that, Domestic Consumption Expenditure in the third quarter increased by 5.5 percent. The main sources of this growth were from spending on food, automobiles, electrical appliances and others. The Government Consumption Expenditure (at base price) of the third fquarter had and increasing trend with 3.4 percent growth compared to the same period last year. The increase comprised 0.4 percent risen in compensation of employees and 6.8 percent risen in purchases of goods and services. It was the result of accelerated spending from the government budget and economic stimulus plans in order to boost purchasing power of people and increase liquidity in the economy.
-Development News Bulletin, National Economic and Social Development Board, Volume 15, No. 1 : January 2000