Thailand’s exports rise 16.8% in December, beating forecasts

[BANGKOK] Thailand’s customs-cleared exports rose 16.8 per cent in December from a year earlier, the commerce ministry said on Friday (Jan 23), higher than analysts’ expectations.

The reading for December compared with the forecast 8.74 per cent year-on-year increase in a Reuters poll, and followed a 7.1 per cent rise in the previous month.

For the whole of 2025, exports rose 12.9 per cent from a year earlier, the highest growth rate in four years.

In December, shipments to the United States, Thailand’s largest market, rose 54.3 per cent year over year, while those to China increased 4.4 per cent.

The United States imposed a 19 per cent tariff on imported goods from Thailand, in line with other countries in the region.

However, there are still uncertainties relating to US tariffs on transshipments via Thailand from third countries.

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December imports rose 18.8 per cent from a year earlier, versus a forecast rise of 15.77 per cent, leading to a trade deficit of US$0.4 billion in the month, smaller than the forecast deficit of US$1.8 billion.

The baht has gained about 0.8 per cent against the US dollar so far this year after a 9 per cent rise in 2025, posing a threat to the competitiveness of the export and tourism sectors.

Thailand’s export growth was expected to slow in 2026, Nantapong Chiralerspong, head of the commerce ministry’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office, told a press conference. REUTERS