Thailand Authorizes 2026 U.S. Corn Import Surge, Cuts Tariff to Zero

2025-11-12 01:14 By Farida Husna 1 min. read

Thailand on Tuesday approved a major increase in U.S.

corn imports, raising the quota from 54,700 to 1 million metric tons between February and June 2026, while slashing the tariff from 20% to zero.

Government spokesperson Siripong Angkasakulkiat said the move is part of ongoing trade negotiations with the U.S., noting, “These measures were part of negotiations with the U.S., but the government will minimise the impact on farmers.” To protect local producers, importers must purchase three parts of domestic corn for every part imported.

The limited import window is also intended to prevent downward pressure on local prices.

Thailand consumes about 9 million metric tons of corn annually, with 4–5 million tons imported.

Additionally, the cabinet endorsed soybean meal imports from 11 importers for 2026–2028, with a 2% tariff.



News Stream
Thailand Import Growth at Over 3-Year High
Thailand’s imports rose 18.8% yoy to USD 29.28 billion in December 2025, accelerating from a 17.6% growth in the previous month and extending gains for a 19th consecutive month. It was the fastest pace in purchases since August 2022, boosted by robust domestic demand on the back of government support measures to spur year-end spending. Purchases grew for transport equipment (39.3%), capital goods (31.7%), consumer goods (27.2%), raw materials, semi-finished products (19.9%), and other products (10.2%) while falling for fuels (-17.1%). By commodity, imports increased for electrical machinery & components (60.6%), circuit boards (56.3%), home appliances (52.3%), other metal ores, scrap metal (33.5%), machinery & components (22.8%), chemicals (16.7%), and iron, steel (8.1%); but declined for crude oil (-11.5%), computers and components (-11.1%), and jewelry (-36.5%). For the full year, imports rose 12.9% to USD 344.94 billion.
2026-01-23
Thailand Import Growth at 6-Month High
Thailand’s imports rose 17.6% yoy to USD 30.17 billion in November 2025, accelerating from a 16.3% increase in the previous month and extending gains for an 18th successive month. It was the fastest pace in purchases since May, driven by resilient domestic demand as Bangkok continued to roll out government support measures to bolster spending ahead of year-end. Purchases grew for other products (69.7%), raw materials, semi-finished products (29.7%), capital goods (18.7%), transport equipment (10.0%), and consumer goods (8.2%); while falling for fuels (-16.7%). By commodity, imports increased for circuit boards (195.1%), electrical machinery & components (37.1%), machinery & components (8.7%), computers and components (6.3%), other metal ores, scrap metal (16.6%), and home appliances (14.7%); but fell for crude oil (-26.8%), and jewelry (-2.2%). For the first eleven months of the year, imports rose 12.4% to USD 315.66 billion.
2025-12-25
Thailand Imports Hit Record Peak
Thailand’s imports rose 16.3% yoy to a record high of USD 32.3 billion in October 2025, following a 17.2% jump in the prior month and marking the 17th consecutive month of growth. The result far exceeded market expectations of 7.5%, underscoring resilient domestic demand heading into year-end amid Bangkok’s efforts to revive subdued consumption and cushion the impact of U.S. tariffs. Purchases grew for raw materials, semi-finished products (43.5%), others (33.4%), and capital goods (3.1%); while falling for fuels (-9.8%), consumer goods (-2.7%), and transport equipment -1.7%). By commodity, imports increased for jewelry (245.0%), electrical machinery & components (38.3%), circuit boards (33.3%), other metal ores, scrap metal (9.9%), machinery (5.4%), and iron and steel (17.5%). In contrast, arrivals shrank for computers and components (-29.8%), crude oil (-12.7%), and home appliances (-5.3%). For the first ten months of the year, imports rose 12.4% to USD 286.85 billion.
2025-11-25