The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) has revealed the political turmoil has caused this year’s growth of the printing and paper packaging industry to plummet, pointing out that if the issue is addressed, the industry will resume its normal growth of 8-10%.
Honorary chairman of the FTI’s Printing and Paper Packaging Industry, Kriangkrai Thiannukul, stated that the industry grew by 2-3% from last year when it earned over 300 billion baht in market value from domestic sales and exports.
Mr. Kriangkrai however said that the overall outlook of pocketbooks and magazines has declined by 20 percent, due to the receding consumer spending power and the current political factors.
Meanwhile, calendar and diary production remains untouched by the said elements, as most of the orders had been placed well in advance of the New Year festival. The sector has an approximate growth of 10 percent.
Mr. Kriangkrai said the well wishing card printing suffers a 20% decrease in growth compared to that of last year, with a potential of continuing decline. He indicated that the rising popularity of electronic cards as well as computer and smart mobile phone applications have diminished the sales.
Nonetheless, Mr. Kriangkrai added political factors would likely continue to damage the industry throughout the first quarter of 2014. He believes however that if the issues are addressed early, the growth rate of the printing and paper industry.