BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s exports rose for an eighth consecutive month in February, the commerce ministry on Friday said, although uncertainty over U.S. trade policy clouds the outlook for the remainder of the year.
Exports, a key driver of Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, increased 14.0% in February from a year earlier, stronger than a forecast rise of 9.7% in a Reuters poll and following January’s 13.6% increase.
“Exports were very good, we are satisfied,” Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan told a briefing, saying exports could grow an annual 10% over the first quarter.”Trade and investment are flowing in and free trade negotiations will help boost exports,” Pichai added.
In 2024, Thailand’s exports rose by 5.4% to a record $301 billion. The ministry has forecast a more moderate rise of 2%-3% this year, but it has said shipments could beat that estimate.
Imports rose 4% in February from a year earlier, lower than a forecast rise of 4.8%, leading to a trade surplus of $2 billion in February that was bigger than the forecast surplus of $0.7 billion.
Pichai has previously said he hoped Thailand would not face U.S. tariffs, amid concerns that the country’s trade surplus with Washington could become an issue.
In February, exports to the United States, Thailand’s biggest market, rose 18.3% from a year earlier, while shipments to China rose 22.4%.
Rice export volumes dropped by an annual 33.1% in February.
(Reporting by Orathai Sriring, Kitiphong Thaichareon, Thanadech Staporncharnchai; Writing by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by John Mair)
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