Thai exports expand 0.9 percent during the first quarter



BANGKOK: -- Thai exports are steadily improving with the export volume for the first quarter expanding a modest 0.9 percent resulting to US$ 8,189 million in trade surplus.

Commerce Minister Suvit Maesinsee disclosed on Monday that exports for the month of March expanded 1.3 percent to US$19.125 billion constituting the second month of export expansion in a row.

Imports for March, meanwhile, contracted 6.94 percent to US$ 16.159 billion, resulting to trade surplus amounting to US$2.96 billion.

For the first quarter of the year, exports increased 0.9 percent to US$53,829 million while imports for the same period contracted 11.99 percent to US$45,640 million.

Minister Suvit said that Thailand was the only country in the region which registered export increase during the first quarter.

Mr Nopporn Thepsittha, president of Shippers Council of Thailand, attributed the export expansion to increased exports of gold bars, automotive products and seafood such as frozen shrimps.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/160951


-- Thai PBS 2016-04-25

attributed the export expansion to increased exports of gold bars,

Gold bars !! ????

The drop in import is an indicator of future weak exports, but the March numbers are actually pretty good.

Are foreign currency from tourist revenue included in the export numbers or are they only included in the currency account?

But as there is no transparency in any sector, It is just numbers

These are very small changes in the export numbers. I would hesitate to draw any conclusions.

The drop in import is an indicator of future weak exports, but the March numbers are actually pretty good.

Are foreign currency from tourist revenue included in the export numbers or are they only included in the currency account?

its both, but yes seems like its going the right way

+ 9.03 million international visitors landed in Thailand in the first quarter of this year, generating Bt455 billion in tourism revenue

+ International tourist arrivals rose 15.45% in the first three months of 2016 from a year earlier

+ Positive growth was registered for two months in a row, resulting in the 0.9 per cent growth rate in the first quarter

+ Board of Investment (BoI) rose by 98% year-on-year in the first quarter, with the total value of investment up by a big 234% in the period.

+The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) said car production hit a 30-month high in March at 192,811 vehicles, up 8.2% year-on-year

+The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) moved sideways up with support from capital inflows, state spending and news of personal income tax restructuring.

- Bank NPL raising

- The European Union is keeping up the pressure on Thailand to do more to clean up problems in the fishing industry

- Nevertheless, export value in March contracted 1.1 per cent on year if gold was excluded, as the value of electronics and electrical appliances continued to slide. Oil-related products also showed a decrease in value. Excluding gold, the three-month figures contracted 2.7 per cent. (is Thailand selling gold to show better figures?)

Well everything looks great, but only the the thai person there has to work, has to pay debt , has to farm and so on has problems

Edited April 25, 201610 yr by carstenp

With Thailand as the the world's second largest exporter of rice I would have expected this commodity to get a mention in the statistics of exports. The fact that is doesn't causes some worry. But who cares gold bars and farmed prawns hit the high spot. For what it is worth Vietnamese prawn farming is just ramping up big time and will likely make a strong prawn export competitor for Thailand.

Exports up om overstayers also never got a mention