BANGKOK, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) — Thailand’s exports expanded for the second straight month in September because of elevated shipments of agricultural and agro-industrial merchandise amid slowing world demand, official knowledge confirmed on Tuesday.
Exports, a key driver of the Southeast Asian nation’s financial development, rose 2.1 % final month from a yr earlier to 25.47 billion U.S. {dollars}, in accordance with knowledge launched by the Ministry of Commerce.
A breakdown of the info revealed that Thailand’s export of agricultural merchandise jumped 17.7 % yr on yr, from a 4.2 % improve within the earlier month, whereas agro-industrial items expanded 5.4 % yr on yr, rebounding from a 7.6 % fall in August.
Notably, rice shipments noticed vital development in South African and Indonesian markets.
However, restoration of key markets such because the U.S., Japan and the European Union remained sluggish, partly as a result of ongoing geopolitical dangers, worldwide conflicts, and extended excessive rates of interest, which contributed to the slowing of worldwide demand, the ministry mentioned in a press release.
Industrial product shipments shrank 0.3 % from a yr earlier, down from a 2.5 % improve within the earlier month, regardless of notable development in automotive and electronics merchandise.
The knowledge additionally indicated Thailand’s imports plunged 8.3 % from a yr earlier to 23.38 billion {dollars} in September, leading to a commerce surplus of two.09 billion {dollars}.
For the primary 9 months of the yr, the dominion’s exports fell 3.8 % from a yr earlier, whereas imports dropped 6.0 %, yielding a commerce deficit of 5.83 billion {dollars}, in accordance with the ministry.
The ministry expects Thai exports to extend steadily within the last quarter of the yr owing to secure demand for meals safety, coupled with an upswing within the service and tourism sectors through the year-end festive season, which is anticipated to spice up shipments of agricultural and meals merchandise.