Thai Nov exports drop 6%, worse than forecast

BANGKOK – Thailand’s exports dropped for a second straight month in November and by more than expected, due to a global slowdown and China’s lockdown measures, the commerce ministry said on Tuesday.

Exports, a key driver of Thai growth, declined 6 percent in November from a year earlier, compared with a forecast fall of 5.2 percent year on year in a Reuters poll. That came after October’s 4.4 percent drop.

Exports of agricultural and agro-industrial products dropped by 2 percent in November from a year earlier, while shipments of industrial products declined 5.1 percent, the ministry said in a statement.

Among major markets in November, shipments to the United States rose 1.2 percent from a year earlier while those to Southeast Asia dropped 9.5 percent. Exports to China declined 9.9 percent from a year earlier.

In the first 11 months of 2022, exports increased 7.6 percent from the same period a year earlier, compared with the ministry’s target of a 4-percent export rise for the full year.

In November, imports were up 5.6 percent in November from a year earlier, compared with a forecast 0.8 percent dip. Many imports will be used for producing goods to be shipped out again.

Thailand recorded a trade deficit of $1.34 billion in November, versus a forecast deficit of $200 million.

Earlier on Tuesday, industry ministry data showed factory output in November dropped 5.6 percent from year earlier, the biggest contraction in more than two years as global demand slowed, and the ministry expected a further fall in production in December.

Industrial products account about 80 percent of total exports.