BANGKOK: Thai exports grew at their fastest rate in 28 months in July as demand rose in key markets, data showed on Tuesday, and the commerce ministry maintained its forecast for a small increase in shipments in 2024.
Exports, a key driver of Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, rose 15.2% in July from a year earlier, the biggest increase since March 2022.
The surge compared with a forecast 6.0% increase in a Reuters poll, and followed a 0.3% annual decline in June.
Imports rose 13.1% in July from a year earlier, compared with a forecast increase of 2.8% in the poll. That led to a trade deficit of $1.37 billion in July, larger than the forecast of a $0.52 billion deficit.
In the January-July period, exports rose 3.8% from the same period in 2023, while imports were up 4.4%, resulting in a trade deficit of $6.6 billion for the period.
The ministry maintained its export growth target for the full year at 1% to 2%.
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 United States rose 26.3% in July from a year earlier and exports to China rose 9.9%, but those to Japan fell 2.5%, the ministry said.
July shipments of agro-industrial products rose 8.7% from a year earlier, while rice export volumes declined 0.3% year-on-year to 604,000 metric tons the ministry said in a statement. - Reuters
