Thai products losing market share in China, data shows
The market share of Thai products in China contracted dramatically last year – from 8.4% in 2021 to 2.1% – but a few food items continued to be top sellers, the Commerce Ministry’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office said on Thursday.
Thai sticky-rice flour had a 99% share of China’s market last year, while processed sweet corn and crackers accounted for 79% and 73% of sales, respectively, in their segments, the office said.
Its director, Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, said Thailand was China’s 14th largest trade partner last year.
Thailand’s total exports to China were valued at 1.98 trillion baht (US$56.52 billion) last year, he said.
Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan are the top exporters to China.
Thai-made crackers saw the biggest expansion in China’s market last year, growing 44.1% year on year, Poonpong said.
Sales of electronic calculators and cameras saw significant growth of 16.7% and 15.4%, respectively.
The three Thai products that saw exports to China contract the most last year were rubber (down 8.7% year on year), fresh, dried and frozen fruits (down 5%), and computers and components (down 4.3%), according to data from the office.
It urged exporters to study market trends and competitors in China, as well as look beyond first-tier cities, to avoid losing a bigger share of China’s market.
The trade policy office collects data on sales of Thai products in international markets and this data is available on its website: https://คิดค้า.com/
Thai manufacturers, exporters, analysts and the general public can access the data from the “global demand dashboard” on the website.
