Thai business group sees export growth as high as 10.5% this year
Cargo ships are loaded with containers as it is docked at the port of Bangkok, in Bangkok, Thailand, April 3, 2025. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
BANGKOK :Thailand's exports are likely to expand as much as 10.5 per cent this year, up sharply from a previous forecast of 2 per cent to 3 per cent, driven by shipments of low-value goods and gold, a leading business group said on Wednesday,
The Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking said exports would grow between 9.5 per cent and 10.5 per cent this year but maintained its 2025 gross domestic product growth forecast at 1.8 per cent to 2.2 per cent.
Since much of the items shipped had low value added locally or were gold-related, it would not translate into significant gains for the economy, said committee member Phot Aramwattananon, chair of the Thai Chamber of Commerce.
"It will increase GDP growth not more than 0.4 per cent", Phot told a press conference, adding that accelerating the government's consumer subsidy or "co-payment" scheme would help.
In September, the Thai economy improved on a monthly basis on a manufacturing rebound and rising exports, according to the central bank. The finance ministry last month projected a 10 per cent rise in exports from an earlier forecast of 5.5 per cent.
Lattakit Lapudomkarn an economist at KKP Securities, said that while exports were growing, manufacturing output had not increased significantly, so the GDP impact would be limited.
"The rise in exports isn’t coming from domestic production and adds very little value," Lattakit said, noting that the sharp rise in exports, particularly to the United States, could be due to export rights from other countries and products still included on exemption lists.
