Thailand’s exports grew by over 16% in the month of February 2022, driven by higher international demand on the back of global economic recovery. This higher-than-expected increase in exports has resulted in a trade surplus of USD 123 million, according to the Thai Commerce Ministry.
A particularly dynamic segment is represented by rice shipments, which reached 1.5 million tons in the first two months of 2020, compared with 900,000 tons in the same period of 2021. The Commerce Ministry believes Thai rice exports may exceed 7 million tons in 2022, partly driven by new markets.
Furthermore, Thai chicken exports to Saudi Arabia have considerable potential, given that 11 Thai chicken factories were recently given permission to export chilled and frozen fresh chicken to the Middle Eastern country after 18 years of suspension. Saudi Arabia currently imports 590,000 tons of chicken per year, 70% from Brazil and the remaining 30% from Ukraine and France. Thailand also aims to grow exports of other products to Saudi Arabia, and the Ministry of Commerce plans to organize a visit there to increase trade and investment between the two countries.
The Commerce Ministry also aims to sign 11 deals to form deeper partnerships through “mini-free trade agreements” (mini-FTAs) in 2022, partnering with trade hubs in countries such as South Korea and Japan.
(Source: Bangkok Post)
