Thai exports surge by nearly 25 percent

Just days after the World Bank expressed optimism about Thailand’s economic recovery, the Ministry of Commerce reported that exports soared by 24.7 percent in November compared to the same month last year, a result that exceeded the expectations of most economists.

Minister of Commerce Jurin Laksanawisit said that the surge easily outpaced the 18 percent increase predicted in a Reuters poll of economists. It was also a marked jump over the 17.4 percent increase the Kingdom achieved in October. From January through November, exports were 16.4 percent higher than in 2020.

Exports are the key driver of Thailand’s economy. The result bodes well for the Kingdom’s growth prospects in 2022. The World Bank recently forecast that the Thai economy would grow by about 4 percent in 2022.

However, Thai economists have cautioned that they expect export growth to level off next year but remain steady, barring any possible adverse effects should the COVID-19 pandemic experience a global resurgence. The other drivers of the economy are investment and consumption, which have both been doing well.

Another sector to be focused on is tourism, which contributed roughly 10 percent directly to the Thai economy. Although past national health measures may have affected the sector during the past two years, industry analysts have said that they expect to witness gradual recovery in the years to come.

While exports are expected to post positive growth in 2022, the size of the increase will depend upon recoveries in Thailand’s trading partners.