Tailàndia: Visió econòmica i política
Thailand is an emerging economy and active member of ASEAN and is very open to international trade, which represented 97.9% of the GDP in 2021 (World Bank, 2022). Main export commodities are vehicles, including parts and accessories (7.2% of total exports), jewellery (3.1%), crude oil (2.8%) and rubber products (2.4%). Thailand mainly imports crude oil (9.6% of total imports), electronic integrated circuits and microassemblies (4.7%), gold including gold plated with platinum (2.9%), and parts for motor vehicles (6.5%). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is forecasting an increase of 4.7% in the volume of exports of goods and services of the country in 2022, after an increase of 2.8% in 2021 and a fall of 4.9% in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic, and an increase of 5% of its imports, after an increase of 15.2% in 2021 and a fall of 3.2% in 2020.
In 2021, the country's main export partners were the United States (15% of total exports in 2021), China (13%), Japan (10%), Hong Kong (5%) and Vietnam with 4.9% (Comtrade, 2022). The main import partners were China (25% of total imports), Japan (14%), United States (7.7%) and Malaysia (5.2%). The US-China trade war could hurt Thai exports in the coming years, but the slowdown in China can be counterbalanced by the economic upturn in other markets. On the 15th of November 2020 Thailand has 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 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 shipped USD 250.2 billion worth of products and services in 2021, while imports of goods and services stood at USD 215.3 billion, giving a trade balance surplus, including services, of USD 34.9 billion.
Foreign Trade Values | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Imports of Goods (million USD) | 221,519 | 248,201 | 236,260 | 206,992 | 266,882 |
Exports of Goods (million USD) | 236,635 | 252,957 | 246,269 | 231,468 | 272,006 |
Imports of Services (million USD) | 46,385 | 54,661 | 56,563 | 46,563 | 65,501 |
Exports of Services (million USD) | 75,228 | 77,152 | 80,784 | 31,421 | 24,502 |
Source: World Trade Organisation (WTO) ; Latest available data
Foreign Trade Indicators | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) | 120.9 | 120.8 | 109.7 | 97.8 | 116.7 |
Trade Balance (million USD) | 32,581 | 22,388 | 26,725 | 40,856 | 39,885 |
Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) | 56,877 | 44,922 | 51,047 | 25,942 | 222 |
Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 6.2 | 8.3 | -5.2 | -14.1 | 17.9 |
Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 5.2 | 3.4 | -3.0 | -19.7 | 10.4 |
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 54.2 | 56.0 | 50.2 | 46.3 | 58.4 |
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 66.7 | 64.8 | 59.5 | 51.6 | 58.2 |
Source: World Bank ; Latest available data
Foreign Trade Forecasts | 2022 | 2023 (e) | 2024 (e) | 2025 (e) | 2026 (e) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Volume of exports of goods and services (Annual % change) | 7.4 | 5.7 | 7.8 | 4.2 | 4.8 |
Volume of imports of goods and services (Annual % change) | 6.7 | 4.4 | 6.1 | 5.1 | 3.8 |
Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook ; Latest available data
Note: (e) Estimated Data
Main Customers (% of Exports) |
2020 |
United States | 14.9% |
China | 12.9% |
Japan | 9.9% |
Hong Kong SAR, China | 4.9% |
Vietnam | 4.8% |
Australia | 4.2% |
Singapore | 4.1% |
Malaysia | 3.8% |
Indonesia | 3.3% |
Switzerland | 3.3% |
Cambodia | 2.6% |
India | 2.4% |
Philippines (the) | 2.2% |
Netherlands | 1.9% |
South Korea | 1.8% |
Germany | 1.8% |
Myanmar | 1.6% |
Laos | 1.5% |
United Kingdom | 1.3% |
Mexico | 1.0% |
See More Countries | 52.7% |
Main Suppliers (% of Imports) |
2020 |
China | 24.0% |
Japan | 13.3% |
United States | 7.3% |
Malaysia | 4.9% |
South Korea | 3.7% |
Singapore | 3.6% |
Indonesia | 2.8% |
United Arab Emirates | 2.7% |
Vietnam | 2.6% |
Germany | 2.5% |
India | 2.1% |
Saudi Arabia | 1.9% |
Australia | 1.6% |
Philippines (the) | 1.5% |
Laos | 1.4% |
Myanmar | 1.3% |
Brazil | 1.1% |
France | 1.1% |
Switzerland | 1.1% |
Italy | 1.0% |
See More Countries | 46.7% |
Source: Comtrade, 2022. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
Source: Comtrade, 2022. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
To go further, check out our service Import Export Flows.
81.3 bn USD of services exported in 2018 | |
74.05% | |
Personal travelPersonal travel | 71.06% |
Business travelBusiness travel | 2.99% |
13.58% | |
9.46% | |
0.96% | |
0.74% | |
0.40% | |
0.35% | |
0.20% | |
0.15% | |
0.11% |
55.2 bn USD of services imported in 2018 | |
34.32% | |
25.52% | |
22.39% | |
Personal travelPersonal travel | 20.30% |
Business travelBusiness travel | 2.09% |
9.56% | |
4.17% | |
1.82% | |
1.17% | |
0.50% | |
0.48% | |
0.07% |
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, 2023. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
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Actualitzacions: January 2023
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