Bangkok (VNA) - Thailand’sexports in July contracted 11.3 percent year on year to 18.81billion USD, while its imports were valued at 15.47 billion USD, contracting26.38 percent compared to the same period last year.
Local media quoted Pimchanok Vonkorpon, director-generalof the Trade Policy and Strategy Office, as saying that duringthe first seven months of the year, the country’s exports reached 113.16billion USD, down 7.72 percent year on year, while imports were 119.118 billionUSD, down 14.69 percent, resulting in a 14.04 billion USD trade surplus.
One of the key factors for the positive trade outcome isthe export potential of food, processed agricultural products and products forworking from home while COVID-19 related goods are also in demand.
The Thai economy saw its strongest decline since the 1998Asian financial crisis in the second quarter of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemicaffected the tourism industry and domestic manufacturing activities.
Earlier, the National Economic and Social Development Councilof Thailand (NESDC) said that the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in thesecond quarter of 2020 decreased by 12.2 percent year on year, the sharpestfall since the 1998 crisis./.
