US-China trade war blamed for drop in export value
Thailand’s exports for March 2019 were 4.9 per cent lower than the same month last year, leading to a drop of 1.6 per cent in the country’s exports in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, the Commerce Ministry reported on Monday.
The decrease could be blamed on the ongoing trade war between USA and China that has also impacted world trade.
However, the ministry is working to expand exports to new markets such as India and China and anticipates that free trade agreements with several countries will help boost export growth during the remainder of the year.
The value of exports in March was reported at Bt663.22 billion, a drop of 5.6 per cent over the same month of last year, while imports for March were recorded at Bt609.51 billion, a drop of 8.3 per cent. The country’s trade surplus was given as Bt53.71 billion.
In dollar terms, exports in March 2019 were worth US$21.44 billion, a decrease of 4.9 per cent compared to March 2018 while imports for the same period were reported at US$19.43 billion, a drop of 7.6 per cent.