Thailand's textile industry exports fell in the first half

On July 2, 2013, Thailand’s “Today Post” reported that the director of the Industrial Economics Office of the Ministry of Industry in Thailand stated that Thailand’s textile industry is currently facing many problems: increased labor costs, lack of labor force, and a slowdown in the U.S. and EU markets. Due to a number of reasons, the total value of Thailand's textile industry exports fell from US$3.5 billion to US$2.95 billion in 2012, and in the first half of 2013 textile exports also fell by 4.7%. In the international market, the market share of Thai textile products is also very low. In the U.S. market, the share of Thai textile products was 1.42%, while Chinese textile products accounted for 38.11%, Vietnam accounted for 9.02%, Indonesia accounted for 6.36%, and Cambodia accounted for 3.27%. In the EU market, the share of Thai textile products was 0.67%, while Vietnam accounted for 1.82% and Cambodia accounted for 1.37%. Although many unfavorable factors have caused some Thai textile industries to invest abroad, the director of the Thai Industrial Economics Office still recommends Thai companies to invest in Thai production, and they must attach importance to adding value to their products. Because the labor skills and infrastructure of neighboring countries still need improvement.