Thailand Had Trade Surplus Of 880 Million US Dollars In January

[Jai Dee]

Thailand had trade surplus of 880 million US dollars in January

The Commerce Minister, Mr. Krirkkrai Jirapaet, says Thailand had a trade surplus of 880 million US dollars in January 2007, but in the same period of last year, the country had a trade deficit of 468 million US dollars. He says Thailand was able to export about 10,488,000,000 US dollars of goods, up by 17.7 percent, or about 7.19 percent of the 2007 export target at 145,000,000,000 US dollars. The ratio rose by 12.5 percent. At the same time, Thailand imported 9,608,000,000 US dollars, up sharply by 2.4 percent.

Mr. Krirkkrai says the trade figures were satisfactory in comparison to the figures from the same period of the last three years. However, he says the figures were lower to the figures from December 2006, but the reduction was normal and not worrying.

Mr. Krirkkrai however is concerned about the appreciation of Thai baht as it has considerably affected the psychology of many business operators, causing the import figures to decrease. Mr. Krirkkrai says the strengthening of Thai currency favors foreign investors as it lowers their operational costs. However, he says the Commerce Ministry will look into the decreasing imported items because if they are raw materials or capital goods, they could affect Thailand's export sector in the long run.

The Commerce Minister says the export of industrial and agricultural products increased by 23.8 percent. Some of the products included para rubbers, cassavas, rice, as well as frozen and processed shrimps and vegetables. Other products include automotive parts, construction materials, and rubber goods.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 22 March 2007