The Fiscal Policy Office reports the export sector signalled a recovery following a third consecutive month of expansion, says director-general Pornchai Thiraveja.
Between January and October this year, the value of exports contracted by 2.7% year-on-year.
On a quarterly basis, the value of exports contracted by 4.5% in the first quarter, 6.2% in the second quarter and 0.5% in the third quarter.
On a monthly basis, the value of exports bounced back to growth in August and rose by 8% in October to US$23.5 billion.
Exports in the real sector (excluding oil-related products, gold and weaponry) grew by 5.4%.
He attributed the increase in exports to agricultural products, including fresh and frozen fruit, rice, food seasonings, canned and processed vegetables, and fresh, frozen and dried vegetables.
Industrial product shipments also grew for the first time in three months.
Key products posting growth included automobiles and auto parts, electronic circuit boards, telephone and telephone parts, semiconductor transistors and diodes, and electric transformers and components.
However, exports of rubber, air conditioners and components, computers and computer parts, as well as sugar slowed.
The value of exports to major trading partners expanded by 13.8% for the period to the US, 13.7% to Australia, 8.6% to India, and 3.4% to China.
Shipments to new markets such as the Commonwealth of Independent States grew by 77.2%.
However, exports to Japan and the EU declined from September to October.
Inflation, which pressured the economy earlier as global crude oil prices surged, declined 0.31% in October from a year earlier.
For the first 10 months of the year, inflation was 1.61%, within the Bank of Thailand's target range of 1-3%.
The collection of value-added tax, which measures domestic consumption and imported goods, expanded by 5.2% year-on-year in October, but contracted by 3.6% for the first 10 months.
The consumer confidence index rose for the third month in a row to 60.2% in October, up from 58.7 the previous month, attributed primarily to government stimulus policies, increased foreign tourist arrivals and improved exports.
There were 2.20 million foreign arrivals in October, up by 49.7% from the same period last year, with the majority from Malaysia, China, India, South Korea and Russia.
In terms of economic stability, public debt at the end of September accounted for 62.1% of GDP, which is still within the fiscal discipline framework according to the 2018 State Fiscal and Financial Discipline Act.
As for external stability, the situation remains stable and can support risk from global economic volatility, with international reserves at the end of July at $211 billion, according to the office.