Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai will lead a trade delegation to the United States from January 17th to 22nd, in an attempt to expand the US market for Thai products.
During the visit, Phumtham said his delegation will meet with major US importers of Thai rice, who import about US$52 million worth of Thai rice each year, to encourage them to buy more, and will explore potential new rice customers in the US market.
The Thai delegation is expected to sign an MoU with its American counterpart on the purchase of Thai rice and canned food, he added.
During 11 months of last year, bilateral trade value between Thailand and US was estimated at US$62.6 billion (2.1 trillion baht), which was an increase of 4.6% on the same period of the previous year. Thai exports to the US were estimated at US$44.8 billion (1.5 trillion baht), an increase of 3%, while imports from the US amounted to about US$17.7 billion (617 billion baht), an increase of 8.8%.
The main Thai exports to the US were computers and accessories, rubber products, cell phones, accessories and spare parts, semi-conductors, transistors and electricity transformers. Exports to the US are expected to increase by 2% this year.
Thailand’s main imports from the US were crude oil, machinery and accessories, chemicals, circuit boards, aircraft, gliders, aviation accessories and spare parts.
