The FTI revealed that the Industrial Confidence Index in April stood at 95.0, dropping for the first time in four months, amid concerns about electricity and oil prices. Begging the state to allocate the budget as a discount on electricity bills

Mr. Montree Mahapruekphong, Vice Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) and Mr. Wiwat Hemmondharop, Vice President of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) jointly revealed the results of the survey of the Industrial Confidence Index in April 2023 from the survey of 1,164 entrepreneurs covering 45 industry groups of FTI. It was at 95.0, down from 97.8 in March. Declining for the first time in 4 months when considering the components of the index. Found that almost every component, including the index, overall orders Overall sales volume production and operating results Except for the increasing operating costs

However, the confidence of industrial operators that decreased There are negative factors from the slowdown in the manufacturing sector. Due to the continuous holiday during the Songkran Festival While external demand remains weak. Reflected by the index of foreign orders and sales continued to decline. Due to the impact of global economic recession, at the same time, confidence in operating costs remained low. This is because operators are concerned about the increase in electricity and fuel prices. while the loan interest rate As a result, entrepreneurs, especially SMEs, have increased debt burdens. however There is also a positive factor from freight rates that have gradually declined since the beginning of 2023. In addition, there is an expansion of domestic consumption and foreign tourists. Including election-related activities have a positive effect on the domestic economy.

As for the index, its forecast for the next three months was at 105.0, down from 106.3 in March. This is because the global economy is still highly uncertain due to the slowdown in the demand of trading partners. Negatively affected the Thai export sector while the conflict situation between Russia - Ukraine that is still protracted affects energy prices and raw material prices in the world market, causing production costs to continue to increase. especially the electricity bill

Therefore, the FTI has a suggestion to the government sector. And business matching activities (Business Matching) both within the country and abroad continuously, especially the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) and South America, as well as connecting entrepreneur networks. SMEs to increase product distribution channels, another is issuing measures to help entrepreneurs affected by the electricity price increase, for example, allocate a budget to reduce the electricity price to mitigate the impact and reduce production costs for the industrial sector

Source: Thai News Agency