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BANGKOK: Thailand's exports beat forecasts with the fastest growth rate in more than three years in September after a surge in US shipments, prompting the commerce ministry to raise its export forecast for the whole of 2025.
Exports THCEX=ECI, a key driver of the Thai economy, rose 19.0 per cent in September from a year earlier, the fastest rate of growth in 42 months, the commerce ministry said on Monday (Oct 27), beating analysts' expectations of a rise of 7.0 per cent and following an annual rise of 5.8 per cent in August.
Exports were boosted by clarity on US tariffs, as well as signs of a relaxation in US trade measures compared with earlier periods, which helped improve the global trade environment, the ministry said in a statement.
"US tariffs on Thailand have had a relatively limited direct impact, and our entrepreneurs are somewhat prepared," Nantapong Chiralerspong, head of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office, told a press conference.
"Compared to other ASEAN countries, our 19 per cent tariff rate remains competitive," he said.
In September, exports to the United States, Thailand's largest market, jumped 35.3 per cent from a year earlier, the ministry said.
The United States set a 19 per cent tariff on imported goods from Thailand, lower than the 36 per cent rate announced earlier and in line with other countries in the region.
Thailand and the United States on Sunday reached a framework agreement on trade, in which Thailand would eliminate tariff barriers on approximately 99 per cent of US goods.
In the first nine months of 2025, exports rose 13.9 per cent from a year earlier. The commerce ministry now expects exports to rise between 9.4 per cent and 10.4 per cent this year, much higher than its original target of 2 per cent to 3 per cent.
Exports are expected to continue rising in the remaining three months of the year, but at a slower pace, Nantapong said.
In September, imports increased 17.2 per cent from a year earlier, higher than a forecast rise of 10.6 per cent.
That led to a trade surplus of US$1.28 billion in September, much higher than the expected US$0.1 billion surplus.
Rice export volumes fell by 15.6 per cent annually in September and by 23.1 per cent in the January-September period to 5.8 million metric tons.
