Thailand's exports are unlikely to achieve 10% growth next year if the government leaves the baht's appreciation unchecked, exporters warn. "Ongoing baht strength will harm Thai shipments and weaken our competitiveness, " said Pornsil Patchrintanakul, deputy secretary-general of the Board of Trade. Mr. Pornsil was one of a group of leading executives from more than 50 trade associations who yesterday met with Veerasak Jinarat, the vic-minister for Commerce. The baht, quoted yesterday at 36.35 to dollar, is up 4.4% since December last year. Exporters said the baht has appreciated significantly faster against the dollar than competing currencies such as the Chinese yuan or the Vietnamese dong, hurting Thailand' s trade competitiveness.