Thai exports drop 8 percent in October

Thai exports for the month of October dropped 8.11 percent to US$18.5 billion compared to the same period last year, said Commerce Minister Apiradee Tantraporn.

Meanwhile, imports during the same period dropped 18.21 percent to US$16.4 billion resulting to Thailand’s trade surplus of US$2.1 billion.

For the first nine months of this year, exports dropped 5.32 percent to US$180 billion while imports dropped 11.27 percent to US$170 billion.

Trade surplus for the 10-month period amounted to US$ 9,859 million.

In 2014, exports from Thailand amounted to US$227.6 billion, up 16.5% since 2010. Thailand’s top 10 exports accounted for 71.9% of the overall value of its global shipments.

Based on statistics from the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook Database, Thailand’s total Gross Domestic Product amounted to $985.5 billion in 2014.

Therefore, exports accounted for about 23.1% of total Thai economic output.

Given Thailand’s population of 68 million people, its total $227.6 billion in 2014 exports translates to roughly $3,348 for every resident in that country.

Top 10 Thai Exports

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Thai global shipments during 2014. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Thailand.

1. Machines, engines, pumps: US$38.7 billion (17% of total exports)
2. Electronic equipment: $30.7 billion (13.5%)
3. Vehicles: $26 billion (11.4%)
4. Rubber: $14.3 billion (6.3%)
5. Plastics: $13.5 billion (5.9%)
6. Oil: $12 billion (5.3%)
7. Gems, precious metals: $10.1 billion (4.4%)
8. Meat and seafood preparations: $6.5 billion (2.9%)
9. Organic chemicals: $6 billion (2.6%)
10. Cereals: $5.7 billion (2.5%)

Organic chemicals were the fastest-growing among the top 10 export categories, up 51.9% for the 5-year period starting in 2010.

In second place for improving export sales was plastics which was up 45.7%.

Vehicles posted the third-fastest gain in value at 40%, led by Thai trucks which had export sales of $10.3 billion.

The only two declining categories among the top 10 Thai exports were: gems and precious metals (down in value by 13.5%) and rubber (down 2.2%).

Top 10 Thai Exports to China

Thailand’s exports to China amounted to $24.9 billion or 11% of its overall exports.

1. Rubber: $4.6 billion
2. Plastics: $3.2 billion
3. Machines, engines, pumps: $2.9 billion
4. Electronic equipment: $2.6 billion
5. Organic chemicals: $2.3 billion
6. Vegetables: $1.5 billion
7. Oil: $1.3 billion
8. Wood: $1.1 billion
9. Milling products: $659.6 million
10. Medical, technical equipment: $631 million

Top 10 Thai Exports to US

Thailand’s exports to the US amounted to $23.7 billion or 10.5% of its overall exports.

1. Machines, engines, pumps: $5.8 billion
2. Electronic equipment: $5.2 billion
3. Rubber: $1.8 billion
4. Gems, precious metals, coins: $1.3 billion
5. Meat and seafood preparations: $1.1 billion
6. Medical, technical equipment: $812.9 million
7. Vehicles: $760.2 million
8. Knit or crochet clothing: $701.9 million
9. Vegetable/fruit preparations: $621.1 million
10. Plastics: $522.1 million

Top 10 Thai Exports to Germany

Thailand’s exports to Germany amounted to $4.5 billion or 2% of its overall exports.

1. Machines, engines, pumps: $1 billion
2. Electronic equipment: $940.1 million
3. Gems, precious metals, coins: $605.5 million
4. Vehicles: $265.6 million
5. Rubber: $262.9 million
6. Medical, technical equipment: $174.4 million
7. Meat and seafood preparations: $157.7 million
8. Knit or crochet clothing: $110 million
9. Plastics: $108.6 million
10. Iron or steel products: $73.7 million

In 2014, exports shrank 0.41 per cent compared with a 0.32 per cent contraction in 2013.