Thailand's export expand 20pc in July

Thailand's exports expanded 20.27 percent year-on-year in July, reflecting continuous expansion for five consecutive months, the Minister of Commerce announced on Monday.

Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit told local media during the press conference on Monday that the healthy growth momentum was driven mainly by the ongoing global economic recovery in Thailand's trading partners, principally the United States, China, and European countries.

The customs-cleared exports value stood at 22.65 billion U.S. dollars, with imports increasing by 45.9 percent to 22.47 billion U.S. dollars, resulting in a trade surplus of 183.46 million U.S. dollars.

July's expansion was led by agricultural and agro-industrial product exports, which rose by 24.3 percent compared with a year earlier.

Collaborations between the Ministry of Commerce and the private sector, the economic recovery in Thailand's major trading partners, together with weakening Thai baht have increased the competitiveness of Thai products in the global market.

Meanwhile, rising oil prices also helped to boost the value of exports on the products in the supply chain network such as plastic resins and export chemicals.

However, Jurin said that the ongoing COVID19 lock-down measures may have impacted the manufacturing sector in the country, especially between August and September, because of the closures of some fruit factories and inconvenient transportation of exporting routes from Thailand through Laos, Vietnam, China and Malaysia.

Exports are considered as a rare bright spot in Thai economy, especially during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis as the country struggles with a surge in infections due to the more transmissible Delta variant.

The sector accounts for up to 70 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in the prepandemic era, according to data released by the National Economic and Social Development Council.