Exports boom in October, exceeding target

Export value for the first 10 months of 2018 expanded 8.2 per cent from the same period last year, exceeding the government target of 8 per cent.
The value of imports in October increased 11.2 per cent to $22 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $280 million. For the first 10 months of 2018, the value rose 14.8 per cent to $208.9 billion, bringing a trade surplus of $2.559 million.
Thai exports in matured and dynamic markets expanded continuously. Exports to Japan, India, Asean-5 and CLMV grew 18.7, 12, 24.4 and 18.2 per cent, respectively. 
Exports to the US maintained the positive momentum of the last three months at 7.2 per cent, the highest in six months. 
Exports to China are now back on track with positive growth at 3 per cent, but exports to other markets showed slight contraction, especially Australia, the Middle East, Latin America and Russia.
Industrial products returned to growth this month, reaching 6.8 per cent, led by exports of oil-related products (29.1 per cent) and gold (240.8 per cent), whose price rose significantly from last year. 
Other high-performance products were jewels and accessories (excluding gold) (up 21.1 per cent) and telephones and parts (33.7 per cent). 
Some products dropped slightly, such as automobiles and parts (down 8.9 per cent), computers and components (4.9 per cent), electronics circuits (8.8 per cent) and washing machines and parts (40.2 per cent). 
For the first 10 months of 2018, exports of industrial products rose 7.9 per cent. 
Agricultural and agro-industrial products expanded 12.2 per cent, led by most agricultural products such as sugar (up 77.8 per cent), rice (28.2 per cent), cassava products (18.5 per cent), frozen and processed chicken (15.6 per cent), and frozen and processed fruits and vegetables (10.6 per cent). However, rubber is still on a decreasing trend in both price and volume, and contracted 19.1 per cent. 
For the first 10 months of 2018, exports of agricultural and agro-industrial products expanded 4.3 per cent. 
The Ministry of Commerce is confident that export growth in 2018 will exceed the target of 8 per cent, supported by robust growth in major trading partners’ economies in Q3. 
American private consumption grew steadily in response to recovery of the labour market, which would benefit Thai exports of consumer goods.
Economic growth in the EU, China and Japan is promising despite downside risks in their domestic fronts. 
To promote export growth for the rest of 2018 and 2019, the ministry has prepared export and investment promotion schemes utilising the key strengths of product diversity and competitiveness. These will be customised to each market.