Thai Nov exports drop 6.0% y-o-y, slightly worse than forecast

THAILAND’S exports dropped for a second straight month in November and by more than expected, due to a global slowdown and China’s lockdown measures, the commerce ministry said on Tuesday (Dec 27).

Exports, a key driver of Thai growth, declined 6.0 per cent in November from a year earlier, compared with a forecast fall of 5.2 per cent year on year in a Reuters poll. That came after October’s 4.4 per cent drop.

Exports of agricultural and agro-industrial products dropped by 2 per cent in November from a year earlier, while shipments of industrial products declined 5.1 per cent, the ministry said in a statement.

Among major markets in November, shipments to the United States rose 1.2 per cent from a year earlier while those to South-east Asia dropped 9.5 per cent. Exports to China declined 9.9 per cent from a year earlier.

In the first 11 months of 2022, exports increased 7.6 per cent from the same period a year earlier, compared with the ministry’s target of a 4 per cent export rise for the full year.

In November, imports were up 5.6 per cent in November from a year earlier, compared with a forecast 0.8 per cent dip. Many imports will be used for producing goods to be shipped out again.

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Thailand recorded a trade deficit of US$1.34 billion in November, versus a forecast deficit of US$200 million.

Earlier on Tuesday, industry ministry data showed factory output in November dropped 5.6 per cent from year earlier, the biggest contraction in more than two years as global demand slowed, and the ministry expected a further fall in production in December.

Industrial products account about 80 per cent of total exports. REUTERS