BANGKOK — Thailand’s customs-cleared exports rose 8.2 percent in November from a year earlier, the commerce ministry said on Wednesday, roughly in line with analysts’ expectations.
The reading compared with a forecast 8.4-percent increase in a Reuters poll, slowing from October’s 14.6-percent rise.
Exports, a key driver of Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, increased 5.1 percent in the first 11 months from the same period last year, and the ministry forecast a 5.2-percent rise for the full year.
The ministry is maintaining its export growth target of 2 percent to 3 percent for 2025, Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, head of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office, told a news conference.
“We are not worried about exports next year,” he said, adding the ministry was preparing for US trade policies.
Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan said this month the government was aiming to beat the 2025 export goal.
In November, rice export volumes dropped 22 percent from a year earlier but were up 15.5 percent for the January-November period at about 9.2 million metric tons.
Thailand, the world’s biggest rice exporter after India, is aiming for rice shipments of 10 million tons this year, Poonpong said.
Imports rose 0.9 percent in November from a year earlier, below a forecast rise of 2.3 percent, resulting in a trade deficit of $224 million for the month.
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