Thailand warns of domestic supply shortage over COVID-19

 The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) has warned that soaring COVID-19 infections in the industrial sector could lead to scarcity of domestic goods.

The FTI raised the alarm after earlier warning about the impact on the export sector if the novel coronavirus continues to cause more infections among factory workers.

FTI vice-chairman Kriengkrai Thiennukul said if infection rates, now hovering around 14,000 new cases daily, and the emergence of more COVID-19 clusters in factories continue until mid-August, Thailand can hardly avoid the impact of supply disruptions.

There may be a shortage of some products, while the export sector will certainly be affected, he said.

This may make it difficult for people to afford products and services, he noted, adding that the nation has so far only encountered problems on the demand side due to weaker purchasing power.

On July 29 morning, the Thai Ministry of Health confirmed 17,669 new infections of and 165 deaths from the virus during the past 24 hours, bringing the country’ total caseload and death toll to 561,030 and 4,562. The number of recoveries so far stood at 370,492./.

VNA