Exports down but manufacturers told not to worry
Thailand’s export value in March dropped to $24.96 billion, a decline of 10.9% year on year and the lowest in eight months. The contraction was also the largest in the region, the Thai National Shippers' Council (TNSC) said on Tuesday.
China’s exports in March contracted by 7.5%, Malaysia’s were down by 6.1%, Indonesia’s by 4.2%, and Singapore’s by 3.4%, TNSC president Chaicharn Charoensuk reported.
Taiwan and Vietnam, however, saw increased exports in March at 18.9% and 13%, respectively.
Chaicharn added that for the first three months of this year, export value was $70.995 billion, a decline of 0.2% compared with the same period last year.
The import value of the first three months of 2024 was $75.47 billion, an increase of 3.8% year on year.
As a result, Thailand saw a trade deficit of $4.475 billion in the first quarter of 2024.
“Exports in the first quarter contracted slightly year on year due to decreased output of agricultural products, including tapioca, sugar, and durians,” he said.
The summer heat has caused delayed harvests for some durian plantations, therefore output that should have been included in Q1 exports will instead be pushed to Q2, he added.
“Exporters and manufacturers need not be alarmed by the contracting value, as our export sector is still strong, with contributions from supply chains in industries such as automotive and components, tyres, and electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing,” said Chaicharn.
He added that the moving of PCB (printed circuit board) facilities to Thailand by electronics manufacturers will also contribute to the country’s exports in the remainder of the year.
The TNSC’s chairman was confident that export value in the second quarter of this year would total $71 billion, or an average of $23.7 billion per month.
He added that Vietnam’s exports in March saw a significant jump due to the country’s shipping of electronic goods to the US, which is a rapidly expanding market.
Meanwhile, Thai Chamber of Commerce vice president Wisit Limleucha said that another factor that caused Thai exports to contract in March is the decline in automotive exports of 15.2%. He attributed this trend to the popularity of EVs that has caused the demand for vehicles with internal combustion engines to drop.
Wisit added that for high-tech products for export, Thailand is still behind competitors in terms of manufacturing technology, especially those related to electronics and AI (artificial intelligence). He advised Thai manufacturers to upgrade their technology and production structure to facilitate the shift to making products for which there is higher demand, such as going from hard disk drives to solid state drives.
