By Kitiphong Thaichareon and Orathai Sriring
BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand’s exports rose for a sixth straight month and more than expected in December, with the commerce ministry saying on Thursday that shipments would increase further in January but that uncertainty over U.S. trade policies posed a challenge.
Exports, a key driver of Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, grew 8.7% in December from a year earlier, beating a forecast for an 8.15% rise in a Reuters poll and up from November’s 8.2% increase.
The ministry is maintaining an export growth target of 2%-3% for 2025, after last year’s 5.4% rise to a record $301 billion.
According to preliminary data, the ministry expects exports to rise again in January, while it is monitoring the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policies, Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, head of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office, told a news conference.
“We have to wait and see … his policies are being gradually released, with both positive and negative impacts on Thailand and neighbouring Southeast Asian countries,” he said.
The commerce minister is planning to travel to the United States next month to discuss trade and tariffs with U.S. officials, he said.
The ministry said there were challenges to growing Thai exports from uncertain U.S. trade policies, prolonged geopolitical tensions and fluctuations in exchange rates.
In December, exports to the United States, Thailand’s biggest market, rose 17.5% year-on-year. For all of 2024, exports to the U.S. were up 13.7% and accounted for an 18.3% share of Thailand’s total exports.
Shipments to China rose 15% in December from a year earlier, while shipments of computers and components increased 44%. Exports of cars and car parts, however, fell 7%.
Rice exports were also down in December, falling 7.1% from a year earlier, although rising 13.4% for the full year to 9.95 million metric tons.
Thailand, the world’s second-biggest rice exporter, expects rice shipments to drop to 7.5 million tons in 2025 due to more competition from biggest exporter India and less demand from Indonesia, according to the Thai Rice Exporters Association.
Imports rose 14.9% in December from a year earlier, above a forecast rise of 13.7%. That resulted in a trade deficit of $10.6 million in December, compared with a forecast surplus of $290 million.
In 2024, imports rose 6.3% from 2023, yielding a trade deficit of $6.3 billion.
(Reporting by Orathai Sriring, Kitiphong Thaichareon and Thanadech Staporncharnchai; Editing by Martin Petty and Tom Hogue)
