Thailand, the second-largest economy in ASEAN after Indonesia, is an upper-middle-income country with an open economy, a GDP of $529 billion that posted 4.1 per cent annual growth in 2018, improving from 4.0 per cent in 2017. Private consumption and total investment increased by 4.6 and 3.8 per cent respectively. Export value grew by 7.7 per cent while inflation averaged 1.1 per cent and the current account remained in a surplus of 37.7 per cent of GDP. The Thai economy grew between 3.3 per cent to 3.8 per cent in 2019. A newly elected government, continuation of world economic growth, the expansion of government expenditures and the acceleration of public investment in key infrastructure projects are contributors to growth.
An export-dependent economy, Thailand exported a total of $249.8 billion worth of goods in 2018. The United States is Thailand’s number two export market (11.2%) after China (11.9%). The top ten export items include computers (17.2%), electrical equipment (14%), vehicles (12.2%), rubber (6.2%), plastics (5.8%), gems (4.8%), mineral fuels, (4.2%), meat/ seafood preparations (2.6%), organic chemicals (2.5%), and cereals (2.3%).
Thailand is the biggest exporter of natural rubber in the world with a 36.8 per cent share of the global export market that is worth $12 billion annually. It is also the second-largest raw sugar exporting market with 9.3 per cent market share. The country stands second-largest exporter behind India, with a 21.9 per cent market share in rice exports. India is the largest with 26.7 per cent market share. Thailand is the largest automotive producer in ASEAN countries and is also the trading bloc’s leader among countries supplying electronics and its components. Thailand is the leading producer of electric appliances.
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