23 Dec 2020
Trading
Thailand’s outward trade exhibited improving signs in November 2021 despite soaring COVID-19 infections in the US and Europe. November shipments shrank only 3.65 percent YoY, against the 6.71 percent YoY contraction reported for October 2020. Excluding oil-related products, gold and arms, November exports contracted only 2.09 percent YoY. ... Read more
FileSize KB
23 Nov 2020
Despite indications that the global economy would continue to recover in October 2020, Thai export figures for the month plunged by 6.71 percent YoY to USD 19.37 billion. Regardless, upon exclusion of products related to oil, gold and munitions, exports fell by 4.89 percent YoY, only a slight contraction from September’s reading. All in all, Thai exports over the first 10 months of 2020 shrank by 7.26 percent YoY. Agricultural exports slipped back into contraction at 8.8 percent YoY, after seeing 3.1 percent growth YoY in September – with many agricultural products, particularly granulated sugar, seeing diminished demand. Meanwhile, a majority of industrial exports have improved, especially goods that are related to working from home – for instance, computers and components, and air conditioners, along with personal protective equipment (PPE) against viral transmission, like rubber products. Nonetheless, overall exports still contracted by 4.7 percent YoY.... Read more
22 May 2020
The value of Thai exports for April 2020 stood at USD 18,948.2 million, with continuous expansion for the second consecutive month at a rate of 2.12 percent YoY – contrary to analysts’ earlier projection of a 4.6 percent contraction. The fact that many of Thailand’s trade partners have enforced lockdown measures is likely to present an obstacle to Thai exports in April 2020, with expansion in the latter month influenced by the following four temporary factors... Read more
24 Apr 2020
Thai exports to the US contracted 2.7 percent YoY in 1Q20. Excluding products related to arms and tanks for military drills, which caused our export base to become volatile, our shipments to the US grew 15.8 percent YoY. The increase was supported by the US-China trade war, which helped bolster our key exports, i.e., HDDs and auto tires, to the US. Other Thai shipments that met the needs of American consumers, such as automobiles, auto-parts and canned seafood products, grew at favorable pace, as well. ... Read more
21 Apr 2020
The value of Thailand’s outward trade reverted to growth for the first time in five quarters of 0.9 percent YoY in 1Q20, boosted by favorable gold and electronics shipments. However, oil-related exports were dampened by plummeting crude oil prices. ... Read more
22 Jan 2020
The total value of Thai exports came in at USD246,244.5 million, shrinking 2.65 percent YoY in 2019 while the total import value reached USD236,639.9 million, contracting 4.66 percent YoY. As a result, Thailand enjoyed a trade surplus for the fifth consecutive year of USD9,604.6 million.... Read more
23 Dec 2019
Thai exports in November 2019 totaled USD19.657 billion, dropping below USD20 billion for the first time in seven months and plunging for four consecutive months by 7.4 percent YoY, which marks the worst contraction in 43 months. Consequently, Thai exports in the first 11 months (Jan-Nov) of 2019 shrank by 2.8 percent YoY. Thai consignments in November 2019 fell virtually in every major market, reflecting the poor economic performance of Thailand’s major trading partners. There is an exception, though.... Read more
21 Oct 2019
Thai exports in September fell from the previous month, lower than the consensus of the analysts. The lackluster performance is in line with exports of other countries in the region which were affected by the worse-than-expected global economy and the prolonged trade war between the US and China. Outbound shipments from Thailand in September 2019 declined by 1.4 percent YoY. Although the figure is better than a 4-percent drop in the previous month, it is worse than the market consensus. In September, the value of main Thai farm exports such as rice, rubber and tapioca products contracted at a double-digit rate, dragging on the overall Thai outbound shipments. At the same time, the Thai industrial exports in September bounced back to positive territory, increasing 0.2 percent, driven by the shipments of vehicles, auto parts and components, electrical appliances and gold which continued to expand. Excluding gold consignments, the Thai exports would have contracted 2.8 percent YoY.... Read more
20 Sep 2019
The slowing global economy, persistent trade war and strong Baht caused Thailand’s outward trade to shrink 2.2 percent p.a. during 8M19. The value of August exports reverted to a contraction of 4.0 percent p.a. However, our industrial exports overall to the US continued to grow, including computers, electrical appliances, cars and auto-parts, reflecting positive impact from the trade war as the US needed to import those products to substitute Chinese imports. ... Read more
14 Aug 2019
Hong Kong’s protests have escalated to the shutdown of Hong Kong international airport, shaking the reputation of one of the Asian financial hubs. Air transportation for passenger and cargo is disrupted. KResearch views that since the volume of Thailand’s outbound shipments to Hong Kong is small; Hong Kong’s demonstrations are unlikely to have significant impacts on the air cargo of Thai goods’ shipment.... Read more
24 May 2019
Thai exports to major markets are under pressure from the escalating trade war, which is likely to linger through the end of the year. Moreover, Thai exports may lose market share in the European Union (EU) to neighboring ASEAN countries in the near future, if the EU can conclude bilateral trade deals with them. In particular, there are expectations of an imminent free-trade agreement between the EU and Vietnam as the talks are nearly wrapped up, with only the investment clause left to be sorted out. Once concluded, the FTA between the EU and Vietnam is likely to pose a big challenge for Thai outbound shipments to the EU market.... Read more
22 May 2019
Slowing global economy pressures Thai exports in April 2019 to contract for a second consecutive month. The outbound shipment of Thai goods in April 2019 totaled USD18,555.6 million, declining 2.57 percent YoY. Consequently, Thai exports in the first four months of 2019 dropped 1.86 percent YoY, a further decline from the first quarter. The contraction is attributed to slowing economic growth of key trading partners especially China and the European Union. Moreover, high base effect, due to front loading of electronic products and a sharp increase in prices of rice and tapioca in the world market in April 2018 have contributed to the lackluster export performance.... Read more
22 Apr 2019
The value of Thai merchandise exports reached USD21.44 billion, shrinking 4.9 percent YoY in March 2019. Given this, Thailand’s outward trade overall contracted 1.6 percent YoY during 1Q19, as expected by KResearch. The major factors attributing to the contraction in March shipments, in particular to the US, EU (28) and China, included the anemic global economy. However, Thai exports to Japan grew favorably at 7.4 percent YoY in March, led by electrical appliances and processed chicken products. ... Read more
12 Feb 2019
Thai exports in 2018 rose 6.7 percent YoY, driven mainly by commodity prices. Nonetheless, Thai export growth was significantly lower than those of our neighboring countries. Traditionally, intermediate goods accounted for a majority of the entire Thai export structure, showing that connectivity with value chains in different countries is important for Thai trade. Nonetheless, the exports of intermediate goods from Thailand have shown signs of slowdown and declining share in the total export structure. However, the share of Thai finished products increased. At the same time, the exports of intermediate goods from Vietnam and the Philippines rose at the expense of the market share of Thai exports, especially electronics. This trend shows Thailand’s diminishing competitive edge and less important role in the supply chain of the electronic industry. If the trend continues, it will hurt Thailand’s ability to reap profits from the electronic industry, which has promising growth prospects in the future. ... Read more
21 Nov 2018
Thai exports in the first 10 months expanded 8.2 percent YoY, driven by favorable expansion of auto products and parts and equipment, in line with steady global economic recovery. In addition, petroleum-related products rose due partly to higher crude oil prices in 2018 when compared to the levels in 2017. Moreover, the surge is a result of an acceleration of Thai exports to China for manufacturing and exporting to the US before the enforcement of US punitive tariffs against Chinese goods. KResearch views that, typically, Thai exports in October and November are high during the year-end season including Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year’s holidays. Therefore, an average monthly value of Thai exports in the remaining two months of 2018 should rise close to or be slightly higher than October’s figure of USD21,735 million, possibly pushing the Thai export value for the whole of 2018 to nearly 8.0 percent.... Read more