Thai exports in July increased by 15.2% year-on-year, to US$25.7 billion, the highest growth since March 2022, said Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, director of Office of Trade Policy and Strategy, today.
Meanwhile, imports in July were worth about US$27 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13.1%, resulting a US$1.37 billion in trade deficit.
Excluding imports of oil, gold and strategic goods, he said that Thai exports for July still increased by 9.3%.
The export growth is attributable to a recovery in demand for electronic products globally, the expansion of digital technology and the price increases for main agricultural produce.
Factors that suppress export growth include high freight charges and competition generated by new products, such as EVs, said Poonpong.
A breakdown of export increases shows agricultural produce, worth US$2.24 billion, were up by 3.7%; agro-industrial products, worth US$2.1 billion, were up by 14.6% and industrial products, worth US$20.2 billion, were up by 15.6%.
For the first seven months of this year, Thailand exported goods worth US$171 billion, a 3.8% year-on-year increase.
Not counting imports of fuel, gold and strategic products, Poonpong said exports for the first seven months grew 4.4%, to US$177.6 billion. The trade deficit for the period was US$6.6 billion.
Exports for August are forecast to continue the growth, depending on the value of the Thai baht against the US dollar. He warned that the strengthening of the Thai baht, seen in the past 20 days of August, may impact Thai exports.
He pointed out that the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East still pose risks, which the Commerce Ministry and the private sector should monitor closely.
