(Feb 23): Outbound shipments of electronic products and stronger inbound demand for raw materials and machinery pushed Thailand’s exports and imports to their highest levels in four years, as the country seeks a trade agreement with the US.
Thai exports jumped 24.4% in January from a year earlier while imports soared 29.4%, Commerce Ministry data showed Monday (Feb 23). Both figures far exceeded even the most optimistic estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists and marked the fastest growth since late 2021.
Nantapong Chiralerspong, the ministry’s director-general of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office, said the export surge reflected an “upcycle” in demand for electronics tied to artificial intelligence and data centres, rather than transshipments of Chinese goods to the US via Thailand.
The ministry official told reporters at a briefing that Thailand will press ahead with US trade talks after the US Supreme Court struck down most of US President Donald Trump’s global tariffs. Trump has since proposed a new 15% levy to keep pressure on trading partners.
“We need to continue talking to them, to show that we are cooperating,” Nantapong said. “We are running a high trade surplus against the US, so they could come up with any measures later.”
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Thailand’s trade deficit with China was US$7.2 billion in January while the Southeast Asian nation had a US$4.8 billion trade surplus with the US.
The data are good news for Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, whose party this month sealed a coalition deal after a stronger-than-expected election result. Anutin has pledged to boost the growth that has lagged that of other major Southeast Asian economies.
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