Thailand’s exports drop for 7 straight months, 5.5% year-on-year

Thailand’s exports for the first seven months of this year dropped by 5.5% year-on-year to 163.3 billion USD. Imports fell by 4.7 % year-on-year to 171.5 billion USD. This has resulted in a trade deficit of 8.2 billion USD, according to the Ministry of Commerce.  In July alone, exports dropped by 6.2% year-on-year, while imports also dropped by 11.1%, resulting in a trade deficit of about 1.97 billion USD.  

Exports of farm and agro-industrial products have fallen for three consecutive months, by a total of 9.6%, with agricultural products and agro-industrial products falling by 7.7% and 11.8% respectively, due to pressure from economic slowdowns in Thailand’s main trading partners although exports to secondary markets have picked up.