Leather goods were among items which helped to boost Thailand’s first quarter 2004 exports by 19.1% year-on-year to $22.4 billion, according to the country’s Ministry of Commerce.
The country’s exports to India increased 67.7%, China (+24.5), Hong Kong (+17.1%), the Middle East (+32.9%) and Australia (+24.9). Exports to core markets, meanwhile, rose a total of 63.4%. Exports to the ASEAN countries increased 34.7%, the US (+15.5%), the EU (+14.8%) and Japan (+14%).
Commerce Minister, Pongsak Ruktapongpisal, said imports rose 25.8% and in March alone increased 34.7% to $8.3 billion, generating a trade deficit of $264.8 million.
Ruktapongpisal predicted that Thailand’s exports would continue to rise during the second quarter, enabling it to hit the Ministry’s export growth target of 15%.
