Thai exports in August 2021 expanded by 8.93%, expected to see further expansion throughout the year

Export to Thailand August 2021

Mr. Jurin Laksanawisit, Leader of the Democrat Party, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce, held a press conference on border trade and cross-border trade, with Mrs. Mallika Boonmeetrakul Mahasuk, Advisor to the Minister of Commerce, Mr. Boonthee Panichprapai, Secretary to the Minister of Commerce, Mr. Phusit Ratanakul Seriringrit, Director of the Office of Trade Policy and Strategy, Mrs. Aromon Sapphaweetham, Director-General of the Department of International Trade Negotiations, and Mr. Keerati Ratchano, Director-General of the Department of Foreign Trade attending.

Mr. Jurin said that the export figures of Thailand in August 2021 were worth 21,976 million US dollars, expanding by 8.93% compared to the same period of the previous year. As for imports, they were worth 23,191 million US dollars, expanding by 47.92%, with a negative trade balance of 1,215 million US dollars.

The key factors supporting Thailand’s August exports are + (positive). The first factor is the proactive and continuous problem-solving measures of the Commerce Ministry. The second factor is the recovery of the global economy. It is estimated that the global economic growth in 2021 will grow the fastest in 50 years.

The third factor is the PMI, which is the index of global manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, which is in its 14th consecutive month. The fourth factor is that the baht has weakened in recent months, which has increased Thailand’s competitiveness in the world market in terms of price, allowing it to sell more products.

There are four observations on trade growth:

Point 1 : Vietnam, whose export figures have been consistently good, contracted by 1.7% in August due to the Covid situation.

Point 2 For Thailand, the growth figures in August were lower than in July because we faced similar problems to Vietnam: a new wave of Covid and lockdowns. Some manufacturing sectors closed factories or partially closed production, as well as cross-province and cross-border logistics problems that often occur in August and July.

However, because we were able to solve the problem proactively and quickly together with the private sector and the government gave importance to helping the Ministry of Commerce solve the problem, the export figures for August were higher than the previous July. In July, the total export figures were 708,651.66 million baht, and in August, they increased to 715,400 million baht.

Item 3 : Overall exports in the past 8 months +15.25%, exceeding the target of 4%. If including the 8 months, excluding oil, gold and military supplies +21.22%.

Point 4: Agricultural products still expand very well. In August, agricultural products expanded by +45.5% because they gained the Malaysian market, the United Arab Emirates market, which are new markets, and many countries that are still important fruit markets for Thailand.

Although the figures for the first 7 months of 2021 may not be as good as they should be, the global economy is starting to improve, the demand for rice consumption is increasing, and rice exporters are moving forward to penetrate the market, resulting in a positive figure of 25.44% in August.

And when looking at the signals until the end of the year, there is a good trend that the private sector’s rice export contract figures are normally 400,000-500,000 tons per month, increasing to 700,000 tons in July and 800,000 tons in August.

The Ministry of Commerce has joined hands with the private sector to drive forward exports to generate income for the country. This income from exports will be converted into GDP or the country’s economic growth rate, resulting in money for the national budget, construction of roads, electricity, water supply, and income insurance to help farmers.

Create a budget for public health and other economic recovery to help Thai people nationwide, with exports as the leading factor in bringing money into the country,” said Mr. Jurin.

The remaining exports in 2021, the Office of Trade Policy and Strategy (OTPS) assessed that there is still a tendency for continuous good expansion from the recovery of the global economy of major trading partners. The lockdown has begun to return to normal. Therefore, it is expected that exports will definitely expand beyond the target of 4%.

Data source: Department of International Trade