Thai Exports Rose 21.6 Percent in July 2026, Led by Technology-Related Shipments

Thailand's customs-cleared exports rose 21.6 percent in July 2026 compared with July 2025, reaching USD 34.79 billion, according to Ministry of Commerce data released on 27 August 2026 and reported by Reuters and Xinhua. The reading accelerated from the 20.8 percent year-on-year increase recorded in June 2026 and came in above the 17.75 percent rise expected in a Reuters poll of analysts.

Imports rose 36.7 percent year on year in July 2026 to USD 38.40 billion, leaving a monthly trade deficit of USD 3.61 billion — narrower than the USD 5.38 billion deficit analysts had expected in the same Reuters poll. For the first seven months of 2026, the ministry reported exports up 18.2 percent year on year at USD 231.53 billion.

By product group in July 2026, industrial product shipments rose 24.2 percent year on year, driven by video and audio equipment, telephones, computers and related components, according to Xinhua's report of the ministry data. Agricultural goods exports rose 0.6 percent year on year, the first increase in three months, while agro-industrial products fell 3.3 percent. By market, shipments to the United States — Thailand's largest export destination — rose 45.3 percent year on year in July 2026, and shipments to China rose 15.2 percent, the ministry said in the Reuters report.

Separately, Thailand's manufacturing production index rose 0.46 percent year on year in July 2026, according to Ministry of Industry data reported by Reuters, against a forecast 1.0 percent decline and following a revised 2.38 percent fall the previous month. Nantapong Chiralerspong, director-general of the Commerce Ministry's Trade Policy and Strategy Office, told a news conference that export growth is expected to remain supported by demand for artificial-intelligence-related products through the remainder of 2026, while flagging geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and trade-barrier uncertainty as risks. This article is a factual summary of published official trade data and is not investment or business advice.