Thailand’s exports shrank further in April, marking the seventh straight month of decline, as global economic uncertainty weighed on trade, data showed on Tuesday.
Exports, a main driver of the country’s economic growth, dropped 7.6 percent last month from a year earlier to 21.72 billion U.S. dollars, according to the data released by the Ministry of Commerce.
The April export value recorded the lowest in three months and the fastest fall since the 14.6 percent plunge in December 2022.
Exports to China, one of Thailand’s primary export markets, jumped 23 percent year-on-year last month after registering a 3.9 percent decline in March, despite a decrease in shipments to other primary markets, according to the ministry’s data.
A breakdown of the data showed the country’s export of industrial products shrank 11.2 percent from a year earlier in April, while shipments of agricultural and agro-industrial products expanded 8.2 percent year on year.
The data also showed Thailand’s imports fell 7.3 percent from a year earlier to 23.19 billion dollars in April, edging up from a 7.1 percent drop in the previous month and resulting in a trade deficit of 1.47 billion dollars.
For the first four months of the year, the Southeast Asian country’s exports declined 5.2 percent from a year earlier, while imports fell 2.2 percent, according to the ministry.
The ministry maintained its target of 1 percent to 2 percent export growth this year.