The US dollar value of Thai exports rose 8.2% in November from a year earlier, the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday, roughly in line with analysts’ expectations.
The figure compared with a forecast 8.4% increase in a Reuters poll, slowing from a 14.6% rise in October.
Exports, a key driver of Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, increased 5.1% in the first 11 months from the same period last year, and the ministry has forecast a 5.2% rise for the full year.
The ministry is maintaining its export growth target of 2% to 3% for 2025, said Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, head of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office.
“We are not worried about exports next year,” he said, adding that the ministry was preparing for possible changes in US trade policy under Donald Trump.
Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan said this month that the government was aiming to beat the 2025 export goal.
In November, rice export volumes dropped 22% from a year earlier but were up 15.5% for the January-November period at about 9.2 million tonnes.
Thailand, the world’s biggest rice exporter after India, is aiming for rice shipments of 10 million tonnes this year, Mr Poonpong said.
Imports rose 0.9% in November from a year earlier, below a forecast rise of 2.3%, resulting in a trade deficit of $224 million for the month.
