BANGKOK: Thailand’s customs-cleared exports are expected to have declined in May as global demand remains weak, a Reuters poll showed. The median forecast from 18 economists polled was for a fall of 4.80 percent in May from a year earlier. In April, shipments dropped 8.0 percent on-year following two months of increases. Exports, worth more than 60 percent of Thailand’s gross domestic product, have long been sluggish due to tepid global demand and structural problems at home.
Sluggish exports have hampered the military government’s attempts to boost Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy. In the poll, imports in May were seen down 5.45 percent from a year earlier, compared with April’s 14.92 percent plunge.
The poll also showed that Thailand’s manufacturing production index in May is expected to have increased 1.85 percent from a year earlier, following April’s 1.54 percent rise. The index also advanced in March. Industrial goods account for more than 75 percent of total exports.
