Exports returned to growth in September, rebounding from two months of declines to increase 3.2% year-on-year in September.
The Commerce Ministry's International Trade Promotion Department reported Tuesday that Thailand shipped goods worth $19.9 billion last month, a solid bounce-back after exports plummeted 7.4% in August and slipped 0.85% in July.
Thailand imported $21.7 billion in goods in September, up 14.42% from the same month in 2013. As a result, the country recorded a trade deficit of $1.8 billion in the month, said the department's director-general Nuntawan Sakuntanaga.
Exports were stoked by rises in shipments of farm and agro-industry products, particularly rice, which jumped 49.2% in the month.
For the first nine months of this year, Thailand exported a total of $170.46 billion, down 0.85% from the same period in 2013. Imports during that period totalled $171.974 billion, a decrease of 10%. So far this year, the kingdom is running a trade deficit of $1.52 billion.
Ms Nuntawan said the department expected an average of $19.5 billion to be shipped each month over the rest of the year, pushing exports to the plus side for the full-year.