Thai exports drop in January-April 2012

BANGKOK, May 25 (TNA) - The Thai Ministry of Commerce reported on Friday that the country's exports had dropped by nearly 1.8 per cent year on year during the first four months of this year due mainly to economic woes in the European Union or EU. Deputy Commerce Minister Poom Sarapol said that the value of Thai exports in April alone stood at 16.92 billion US dollars, a 3.67 per cent year on year drop; while the value of Thai exports in baht was estimated at 515.98 billion baht, a 2.2 per cent year-on-year drop. Poom acknowledged that the value of Thai exports in the first four months of this year stood at 71.56 billion US dollars, a 3.86 per cent year-on-year decrease, or at 2.2 trillion baht, going down by 1.76 from the corresponding period of 2011. The Thai deputy commerce minister quoted the Thai Office of Economic & Financial Affairs in the United Kingdom and Europe as reporting that the euro zone, a major Thai exporting market, seems to have already entered into an economic recession; so, Thai exports should subsequently grow by 15 per cent year on year on average this year. According to the deputy minister, during the January-April 2012 period, Thailand also had a trade deficit of 8.05 billion US dollars or 276 billion baht, but in April alone, Thailand posted a trade deficit of 2.86 billion US dollars, a fall of 37.5 per cent from a month earlier. (TNA)