Thailand flag Thailand: Economic and Political Overview

Foreign trade figures of Thailand

Foreign Trade in Figures

Thailand is an emerging economy and active member of ASEAN; it is very open to international trade, which represents around 129% of its GDP (World Bank, latest data available). According to figures from Comtrade, in 2023, the country’s main exports were motor cars and other motor vehicles (4.5%), automatic data-processing machines and units (3.6%), electronic integrated circuits and parts (3.4%), motor vehicles for goods transport (3.3%), and petroleum oils and bituminous oils (3.1%); whereas imports mostly comprised petroleum oils (crude) (11.2%), electronic integrated circuits and parts (6.8%), petroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbons (4.0%), gold including gold plated with platinum, unwrought (2.7%), and telephone sets including cellular phones (2.5%).

In 2023, the country's main export partners were the U.S. (17.0%), China (12.0%), Japan (8.6%), Australia (4.3%), Malaysia (4.2%), Vietnam and Hong Kong (3.9% each). Conversely, imports came chiefly from China (24.5%), Japan (10.8%), the U.S. (6.7%), the United Arab Emirates (5.5%), Malaysia (4.5%), and South Korea (3% - data Comtrade). Thailand has 14 free trade agreements with 18 countries/blocs. In 2020, Thailand signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with 14 other Indo-Pacific countries. This free trade agreement is the largest trade deal in history, covering 30 per cent of the global economy. It includes the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and ASEAN’s free trade agreement partners (Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea). The RCEP covers goods, services, investment, economic and technical cooperation. It also creates new rules for electronic commerce, intellectual property, government procurement, competition, and small and medium-sized enterprises.

According to WTO data, Thailand exported USD 284.5 billion worth of goods in 2023 (-1% year-on-year), compared with USD 289.7 billion in imports (-3.7%). Concerning services, exports stood at USD 63 billion against USD 65.4 billion in imports (+62% and +4.1%, respectively). The country had a structurally positive trade balance; however, the balance has been fluctuating in recent years. According to preliminary figures by the Ministry of Commerce, throughout 2024, the kingdom's exports grew by 5.4% to USD 300,529.5 million, while imports rose by 6.3% to USD 306,809.8 million, leading to a trade deficit of USD 6,280.4 million.

 
Foreign Trade Values 20202021202220232024
Imports of Goods (million USD) 206,156267,343301,030288,509306,810
Exports of Goods (million USD) 231,634272,006287,425285,074300,529
Imports of Services (million USD) 45,17157,69062,58065,34373,331
Exports of Services (million USD) 30,71525,08138,59556,09471,356

Source: World Trade Organisation (WTO) ; Latest available data

Foreign Trade Indicators 20202021202220232024
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) 97.8117.3132.9128.8136.8
Trade Balance (million USD) 40,40231,94513,54319,37919,274
Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) 25,933-597-10,32910,44317,772
Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) -13.917.93.4-2.56.3
Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) -19.711.16.22.47.8
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) 46.358.767.563.466.7
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) 51.558.665.465.470.1

Source: World Bank ; Latest available data

Foreign Trade Forecasts 2025 (e)2026 (e)2027 (e)2028 (e)2029 (e)
Volume of exports of goods and services (Annual % change) 2.11.83.03.13.3
Volume of imports of goods and services (Annual % change) 3.52.33.32.83.0

Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook ; Latest available data

Note: (e) Estimated Data

 
International Economic Cooperation
Thailand is a member of the following international economic organisations: IMF, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), ICC, Colombo Plan, WTO, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), G-77, among others. For the full list of economic and other international organisations in which participates Thailand click here. International organisation membership of Thailand is also outlined here.
Free Trade Agreements
Thailand is a member of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) signed on 15 November 2020. The complete and up-to-date list of Free Trade Agreements signed by Thailand can be consulted here.
 

Main Partner Countries

Main Customers
(% of Exports)
2024
United States 18.3%
China 11.7%
Japan 7.7%
Malaysia 4.1%
Australia 4.1%
See More Countries 54.0%
Main Suppliers
(% of Imports)
2024
China 26.2%
Japan 9.3%
United States 6.4%
United Arab Emirates 5.6%
Malaysia 4.5%
See More Countries 47.9%

Source: Comtrade, 2025. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.

 
 

Main Products

300.8 bn USD of products exported in 2024
Automatic data-processing machines and units...Automatic data-processing machines and units thereof; magnetic or optical readers, machines for transcribing data onto data media in coded form and machines for processing such data, n.e.s. 5.0%
Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally...Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, incl. station wagons and racing cars (excl. motor vehicles of heading 8702) 4.1%
Telephone sets, incl. telephones for cellular...Telephone sets, incl. telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks; other apparatus for the transmission or reception of voice, images or other data, incl. apparatus for communication in a wired or wireless network [such as a local or wide area network]; parts thereof (excl. than transmission or reception apparatus of heading 8443, 8525, 8527 or 8528) 3.9%
Parts and accessories for tractors, motor vehicles...Parts and accessories for tractors, motor vehicles for the transport of ten or more persons, motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, motor vehicles for the transport of goods and special purpose motor vehicles of heading 8701 to 8705, n.e.s. 3.0%
Gold, incl. gold plated with platinum, unwrought...Gold, incl. gold plated with platinum, unwrought or not further worked than semi-manufactured or in powder form 2.9%
See More Products 81.2%
307.6 bn USD of products imported in 2024
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude 10.9%
Electronic integrated circuits; parts thereofElectronic integrated circuits; parts thereof 7.9%
Gold, incl. gold plated with platinum, unwrought...Gold, incl. gold plated with platinum, unwrought or not further worked than semi-manufactured or in powder form 5.0%
Petroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbonsPetroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbons 3.1%
Automatic data-processing machines and units...Automatic data-processing machines and units thereof; magnetic or optical readers, machines for transcribing data onto data media in coded form and machines for processing such data, n.e.s. 2.7%
See More Products 70.4%

Source: Comtrade, 2025. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.

 
 

To go further, check out our service Import-Export Flows.

 

Main Services

Source: United Nations Statistics Division, 2025. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.

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Latest Update: October 2025