Thai exports post fastest growth in 28 months in July
THAI exports grew at their fastest rate in 28 months in July as demand rose in key markets, data showed on Tuesday (Aug 27), and the commerce ministry maintained its forecast for a small increase in shipments in 2024.
Exports, a key driver of South-east Asia’s second-largest economy, rose 15.2 per cent in July from a year earlier, the biggest increase since March 2022.
The surge compared with a forecast 6.0 per cent increase in a Reuters poll, and followed a 0.3 per cent annual decline in June.
Imports rose 13.1 per cent in July from a year earlier, compared with a forecast increase of 2.8 per cent in the poll. That led to a trade deficit of US$1.37 billion in July, larger than the forecast of a US$0.52 billion deficit.
In the January-to-July period, exports rose 3.8 per cent from the same period in 2023, while imports were up 4.4 per cent, resulting in a trade deficit of US$6.6 billion for the period.
The ministry maintained its export growth target for the full year at 1 to 2 per cent.
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A stronger baht currency would affect exports in August, Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, head of the ministry’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office, told a news conference.
Shipments to the US rose 26.3 per cent in July from a year earlier and exports to China rose 9.9 per cent, but those to Japan fell 2.5 per cent, the ministry said.
July shipments of agro-industrial products rose 8.7 per cent from a year earlier, while rice export volumes declined 0.3 per cent year on year to 604,000 tonnes the ministry added in a statement.
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