Kessiri Siripakorn, minister for the office of commercial affairs for Washington, said Thailand's shipments to the US were expected to grow 2% this year from US$19.22 billion in 2007. She added that she expected US economic growth to be stronger in 2008. She made the remarks at a meeting of 56 overseas commercial ministers in Bangkok.

Mrs Kessiri said the US remained the most important destination for Thai exports, despite the slowdown.

The commercial minister insisted that US economic fundamentals remained strong, with economic growth estimated at 1.2% to 2% this year.

She also brushed aside fears that Thailand might be placed on the Priority Foreign Country (PFC) list instead of the Priority Watch List (PWL) as a result of the controversy over compulsory licensing (CL) of drugs. She said that Thailand had made progress in cracking down on intellectual property violations.

Mrs Kessiri added that Thailand's political uncertainties had not cut US investment, and that Thailand's economic fundamentals have remained strong.

The most promising exports would be computers, rubber products, electrical circuits, rice, gems and jewellery, furniture, and food. US investors are said to be interested in the automobile and frozen food industries.

Phaichit Viboontanasarn, the commercial counsellor in Shanghai, said export prospects to China were strong, with shipments expected to grow by at least 25% from $14.83 billion last year.

Aphirak Paepuang, the minister-counsellor of the Office of Commercial Affairs at the Thai Embassy in Washington, said the value of Thailand's exports was expected to grow by 12% this year, driven by shipments of shrimp, food products, tapioca and vegetables.

According to Mr Aphirak, Thailand was also expected to enjoy additional revenue from the 1.3 million South Korean tourists expected to visit the country this year.

He said that South Korean movie producers were also interested in forming joint ventures with local production houses to capitalise on Thailand's advancements in animation and software, as well as its relatively cheap costs.

Thailand's exports in 2007 were valued at $152.47 billion, up 17.5% from a year earlier, much higher than the target of 12.5%. The Commerce Ministry expects this year for exports to grow by 10% to 12.5% to between $167.72 and $171.53 billion.