Thailand’s economy grew only 1.8% last year, well below the expected 2.7%

The ministry expects GDP growth at 2.8% this year as the country has seen increased exports of goods and services, Fiscal Policy Office director-general Pornchai Thiraveja, who acts as the ministry’s spokesman, said.

He said another factor to help boost economic growth this year would be an expected increase in foreign tourist arrivals to 33.5 million, 19.5% higher than last year. Tourism revenue was also expected to rise by 23.6% from last year to 1.48 trillion baht.

In October last year, the Fiscal Policy Office had forecast the country’s economy to expand by 2.7% for the entire year.

Pornchai said that economic figures from the last quarter of last year showed a contraction in the Manufacturing Production Index, which fell by 4.7% in November for 14 consecutive months. Several key products saw declines for many months in a row, including computers, cars, rubber, and plastics.

The dismal growth figures come at a time when the government has needed proof that Thailand’s economy was in a “crisis” so that it could continue with its plan to borrow over 500 billion baht to fund its project to hand out 10,000 baht each to around 50 million Thais. The government described the handout project as a key measure to stimulate the economy.

However, the Finance Ministry spokesman refused to term Thailand as in an “economic crisis” after its expansion was below 2%.

“There is no clear-cut definition for an ‘economic crisis’. There are signs of negative growth for a continued period. But technically, it is not a recession,” Pornchai said.

He pointed out that the country’s current economic situation was still better than the times when economic growth declined for two consecutive quarters, as was the case during the 1997 financial crisis or the pandemic three years ago.