Thailand's customs-cleared exports (THCEX=ECI) rose 8.7% in December from a year earlier, the commerce ministry said on Thursday, slightly higher than analysts' forecasts.
The reading compared with a forecast 8.15% increase year-on-year for December in a Reuters poll, and followed November's 8.2% rise. The ministry is maintaining its export growth target of 2% to 3% for 2025.
Exports, a key driver of Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, increased 5.4% in 2024 to a record $301 billion, the ministry said in a statement.
Imports (THCIM=ECI) rose 14.9% in December from a year earlier, above a forecast rise of 13.65%. That led to a trade deficit (THCTR=ECI) of $10.6 million in December, compared with a forecast surplus of $290 million.
In 2024, imports rose 6.3% from 2023, with a trade deficit at $6.3 billion.
Rice export volumes dropped 7.1% in December from a year earlier, but rose 13.4% to 9.95 million metric tons in the whole of 2024.
Thailand, the world's biggest rice exporter after India, expects rice shipments to drop to about 7.5 million metric tons in 2025 due to more competition from India and less demand from Indonesia, according to the Thai Rice Exporters Association.
