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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 134% of its GDP (World Bank, latest data available). According to figures from the Ministry of Commerce, in 2022, the country’s main exports were motor cars, parts and accessories (10%), automatic data processing machines and parts (7.2%), precious stones and jewellery (5.2%), rubber products (4.8%), and refined fuels (3.5%); whereas imports mostly comprised crude oil (11.9%), chemicals (7%), machinery and parts (6.9%), electrical machinery and parts (6.7%), electronic integrated circuits (63%), iron, steel and products (5.1%).

In 2022, the country's main export partners were the U.S. (16.6%), China (12%), Japan (8.6%), Vietnam (4.6%), and Malaysia (4.4%); conversely, imports came chiefly from China (23.5%), Japan (11.4%), the U.S. (5.9%), the UAE (5.7%), and Malaysia (4.8% - data Ministry of Commerce). On the 15th of November 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 287 billion worth of goods in 2022 (+5.5% year-on-year), compared with USD 303.1 billion in imports (+13.6%). Concerning services, exports stood at USD 40.5 billion against USD 62.7 billion in imports (+59.5% and +8.3%, respectively). The country had a structurally positive trade balance; however, the trend reversed in 2022, when the World Bank estimated the trade balance to be in deficit by 2.3% of GDP for the first time since 2001. According to preliminary figures by the Ministry of Commerce, throughout 2023, the kingdom's exports declined by 1% compared to the previous year, amounting to USD 284.56 billion, while imports decreased by 3.8% to USD 289.75 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of USD 5.19 billion.

 
Foreign Trade Values 20182019202020212022
Imports of Goods (million USD) 248,201236,260206,156266,882303,191
Exports of Goods (million USD) 252,957246,269231,634272,006287,068
Imports of Services (million USD) 54,93956,85545,46657,87162,710
Exports of Services (million USD) 77,47481,17830,99725,43840,578

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

Foreign Trade Indicators 20182019202020212022
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) 120.8109.797.8117.2133.9
Trade Balance (million USD) 22,38826,72540,40232,35410,814
Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) 44,92251,04725,933-79-12,296
Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) 8.3-5.2-13.917.84.1
Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) 3.4-3.0-19.711.16.8
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) 56.050.246.358.668.1
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) 64.859.551.558.665.8

Source: World Bank ; Latest available data

Foreign Trade Forecasts 20232024 (e)2025 (e)2026 (e)2027 (e)
Volume of exports of goods and services (Annual % change) 6.47.04.03.93.3
Volume of imports of goods and services (Annual % change) 3.15.14.44.23.7

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)
2022
United States 16.6%
China 12.0%
Japan 8.6%
Vietnam 4.6%
Malaysia 4.4%
See More Countries 53.8%
Main Suppliers
(% of Imports)
2022
China 23.3%
Japan 11.3%
United States 6.0%
United Arab Emirates 5.9%
Malaysia 4.8%
See More Countries 48.7%

Source: Comtrade, 2023. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.

 
 

Main Products

283.8 bn USD of products exported in 2022
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. 4.5%
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) 3.9%
Electronic integrated circuits; parts thereofElectronic integrated circuits; parts thereof 3.3%
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (excl. crude); preparations containing >= 70% by weight of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations, n.e.s.; waste oils containing mainly petroleum or bituminous minerals 3.1%
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%
See More Products 82.3%
305.7 bn USD of products imported in 2022
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude 12.8%
Electronic integrated circuits; parts thereofElectronic integrated circuits; parts thereof 6.3%
Petroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbonsPetroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbons 4.2%
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 3.7%
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) 2.3%
See More Products 70.7%

Source: Comtrade, 2023. 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, 2023. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.

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Latest Update: March 2024

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