Thailand's exports up 16.8 per cent in June

Jul 21, 2011, 8:30 GMT

Bangkok - Thailand's June exports rose 16.8 per cent year-on-year, reaching 21.1 billion dollars, the commerce minister said Thursday.

Imports last month amounted to 19.8 billion dollars, up 26.1 per cent, leaving the kingdom with a 1.3-billion-dollar trade surplus, Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai said.

During the first six months of 2011, Thai exports were 115 billion, up 23.6 per cent, compared with imports of 111.5 billion dollars, up 28.5 per cent, she said.

Thailand's agricultural exports grew 48.9 per cent during the first half of the year, making it Thailand's fastest growing export sector.

Electronics, the country's leading export item by value, fell 1.6 per cent in the first six months, compared with the same period in 2010. Exports of vehicles assembled in Thailand, another leading sector, were down year-on-year more than 36 per cent for the first five months of the year.

Automobile output was hurt by shortfalls of parts and components from Japan in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

While exports continued to expand in the first six month, the rate slowed to 17.6 per cent in May, compared with June's 16.8 per cent.

The Commerce Ministry has set a target for exports to grow 15 per cent, or 224.6 billion dollars for the year, Porntiva said.

International trade accounts for nearly 70 per cent of Thailand gross domestic product.