BANGKOK: Thailand’s exports are expected to rise 1% to 2% this year, the Thai National Shippers’ Council says, maintaining a previous forecast.

Export growth in the first half of 2024 will also be 1% to 2%, driven by rice, rubber, auto parts, and electronic parts, council chairperson Chaichan Chareonsuk told a news briefing.

Thailand’s exports, a key driver of the economy, rose 7.2% in May from a year earlier, expanding at the fastest pace in four months, according to commerce ministry data.

Shipments increased 2.6% in the January to May period from a year earlier, after falling 1% in the whole of 2023.

Thailand is Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, with a gross domestic product of US$495bil and a population of about 71.6 million in 2022. It is also ranked the 16th largest in the world.

According to the United Nations, Thailand’s urban population reached 53% of its total population in 2022 (45% in 2012), raising a dynamic and growing consumer market supported by a fast-growing middle class.

 - Reuters