BANGKOK :Thailand’s customs-cleared exports jumped 18.4 per cent in May from a year earlier, the commerce ministry said on Wednesday, beating analysts’ expectations.
The reading compared with a forecast 6.7 per cent year-on-year increase for May in a Reuters poll, and followed April’s 10.2 per cent rise.
In the first five months of 2025, exports, a key driver of the Thai economy, rose 14.9 per cent from a year earlier.
Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan told a news conference that exports would be “a hero” for the economy this year, and said he expects upcoming trade talks with the United States on tariffs to go well.
Thailand faces a 36 per cent U.S. tariff on its exports if a reduction can’t be negotiated before a moratorium expires in July. The U.S. has set a 10 per cent tariff for most nations while the moratorium is in place.
