Thai Export Down by 5.01 Percent in May

BANGKOK, June 27 (TNA) - Thai export value continued to fall in May and it has declined by 5% so far this year. The value of Thai export was decreasing for five months in a row mainly due to the lower prices of oil and farm products and economic slowdown in trading partners, said Somkiat Triratpan, director of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office of the Commerce Ministry. He said the slow growth in the export of automobiles and auto parts also significantly resulted in the export decline in May. Mr. Somkiat said that the export value stood at US$18,429 million in May, falling by 5.01% year-on-year. In the first five months of this year, the value amounted to US$88,694 million, decreasing by 4.20%. In May the import value stood at US$16,012 million, down by 19.97%. In the first five months of this year the import value was at US$85,371 million, shrinking by 9.39%. However, Mr Somkiat said Thailand maintained its export shares with important trading partners including the United States, China, Japan, India and countries in other regions. He still believed that the export value would grow by 1.2% throughout this year as earlier anticipated. (TNA)