BANGKOK ― Thai exports fell for the first time in three months in June due to slowing agriculture and food sales, the commerce ministry said on Friday, adding that it still expected exports to grow overall in 2024.
June exports fell 0.3 percent from a year earlier, missing analysts' expectations of a 2.6-percent increase in a Reuters poll.
Exports had risen 7.2 percent in May from a year earlier.
Exports are a key driver of Southeast Asia's second-largest economy. Shipments of agro-industrial products dropped an annual 4.8 percent in the month, while exports of auto parts, computer, and accessories and jewelry all rose, the ministry said in a statement.
Imports rose 0.3 percent in June from a year earlier, compared with a forecast rise of 3 percent in the poll.
Thailand recorded a trade surplus of $0.22 billion in June, versus a forecast surplus of $0.60 billion.
In the first half of 2024, exports rose 2.0 percent from the same period in 2023, while imports rose 3.0 percent with the first-half trade deficit at $5.24 billion.
The ministry expects growth in exports in July, and maintained its export growth target for the year at 1 percent to 2 percent.
“This could be a record year if we hit 10 trillion baht ($277 billion),” said Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, head of the ministry's Trade Policy and Strategy Office, adding crucial factors were the economies of key trading partners including China, the United States, Europe and India.
Shipments to the US rose 5.4 percent in June from a year earlier, while exports to both China and Japan were down 12.3 percent.
In June, rice export volumes rose 78.7 percent year on year to 1.02 million metric tons and were up 96.6 percent in value terms to $644 million.
The weak baht also helped exports, said Chaichan Chareonsuk, chairman of the Thai National Shippers' Council, along with lower freight rates.
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