Southeast Asian currency slump squeezing U.S. exports

Southeast Asian currency slump squeezing U.S. exports

SEATTLE, Washington (AFP): Sharp devaluations of Southeast
Asian currencies have begun to put the brakes on Washington and
Oregon state exports, especially agricultural products.

The Thai baht, Philippine peso, Indonesian rupiah and
Malaysian ringgit had been overvalued but have nosedived over the
past two months.

This means expected U.S. apple sales to the region could drop
by 25 percent, a US$40 million loss to the industry, said
Washington State Apple Commission promotions director Terry
Elwell.

Washington accounts for all but one percent of U.S. apple
exports.

Shipments in the state's 1.1-billion dollar in soft white
wheat exports, 90 percent of which go to Southeast Asia and the
Middle East, have been delayed as Southeast Asia buyers scramble
to find cheaper alternatives.

Wheat exporters are struggling to hold losses below ten
percent against competitors' government-run buying boards, which
can manipulate prices to win contracts, Washington Wheat
Commission CEO Tom Mick told the Puget Sound Business Journal.

Oregon agricultural exporters have felt little impact so far
but anticipate the biggest drops in high-value items like wine,
said Laura Barton, international trade manager for Southeast Asia
for the state department of agriculture.

Markets in Oregon pears and processed, frozen potatoes will be
moderated in the region after several years of healthy growth,
industry sources predicted. Shipments of pears, an exotic fruit
filling a niche market, may be cut in half this year, said the
Oregon-Washington-California Pear Commission's Kevin Moffitt.

The devaluation, which analysts agree is a healthy, temporary
market adjustment, left some food exports largely unscathed.
Washington cherry growers, harvesting before the late-summer
slump, reported record sales all through Asia, said industry
chief Ken Severn.

Meanwhile, banking experts in Chicago said here Wednesday that
faltering Southeast Asian currencies can expect no respite from
financial markets since needed policy reforms have yet to
materialize,

"The market will not give them peace. ... The bottom is near,
but I'm not sure we've reached it yet," Hans Belcsak, president
of the New York-based Rundt and Associates consulting firm, said
at the opening of a three-day, international trade and finance
conference.

He added that the Thai baht, the Philippine peso, the
Indonesian rupiah and the Malaysian ringgit were no longer
overvalued as the result of their nosedive over the past two
months.

"But the problem will not be over for a long time as the
policies (needed to satisfy foreign investors) were not there to
restabilize the market," he added.