Thailand’s GDP growth disappoints with a slow 1.8% rise in 2023

[webfact]

GDP growth in 2023 slowed down to a disappointing 1.8%, according to an announcement by the Fiscal Policy Office (FPO). Director-general, Pornchai Thiraveja, attributed this to a combination of negative factors impacting the economy. Originally, the growth was forecast to rise to 2.7% in 2023, based on a projection made in October last year.

 

The less-than-anticipated growth is due to a downturn in exports and the manufacturing sector. This is evidenced by a 4.7% year-on-year fall in the Manufacturing Production Index (MPI), with automotive products witnessing a 23-month contraction, electronics for 15 months and rubber products for nine months.

 

With this downturn, the value of exports is expected to fall by 1.5%. This is a slightly greater drop than the earlier October estimate of 1.8%, resulting from a slowdown in major trading partners. The reduced MPI resulted in a mere 1.4% GDP expansion in the last quarter of the previous year, compared to 2.6% in the first quarter, 1.8% in the second quarter and 1.5% in the third.

 

Pornchai stated that for economic growth in 2023 to reach the October estimate of 2.7%, GDP in the fourth quarter of 2023 would have to expand by 4 to 5%. However, he did not declare the Thai economy to be in a crisis, as there is no specific definition of such a state, reported Bangkok Post.

 

by Alex Morgan

Picture courtesy of Bloomberg

 

Full story: The Thaiger 2024-01-25

 

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[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The less-than-anticipated growth is due to a downturn in exports and the manufacturing sector. This is evidenced by a 4.7% year-on-year fall in the Manufacturing Production Index (MPI), with automotive products witnessing a 23-month contraction, electronics for 15 months and rubber products for nine months.

If Thailand wasn't so reliant on foreign manufacturing and the tourist industry maybe it would do better.

Time Thailand got it's act together and developed more home grown industries for it's own independent control of GDP

 

[jcmj]

Surprise Surprise. Keep going after the cheapest group tours and this’ll be the outcome. We all know who they are catering to.