Thailand Imports Rise the Most in Over 4 Years

2026-03-24 03:37 By Farida Husna 1 min. read

Thailand’s imports surged 31.8% yoy to USD 32.27 billion in February 2026, accelerating from a 29.4% increase in the previous month and marking the strongest growth since December 2021.

The latest reading also exceeded market expectations of a 24.5% rise, supported by robust domestic demand amid ongoing government stimulus measures rolled out during the month of the general election.

Higher demand for machinery and other capital goods, as well as gold imports, contributed to the surge in inbound shipments.

Purchases also grew for raw materials, semi-finished products (53.3%), transport equipment (19.4%), and consumer goods (10.3%).

By commodity, imports increased for most components, including gold, jewelry (131.9%), electrical machinery (91.4%), circuit boards (89.8%), other metal ores, scrap metal (34.1%), home appliances (27.0%), and chemicals (10.8%); but shrank for crude oil (-29.0%) and iron, steel (-5.4%).

In the first two months of the year, purchases climbed 30.5%.



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Thailand Imports Rise the Most in Over 4 Years
Thailand’s imports surged 31.8% yoy to USD 32.27 billion in February 2026, accelerating from a 29.4% increase in the previous month and marking the strongest growth since December 2021. The latest reading also exceeded market expectations of a 24.5% rise, supported by robust domestic demand amid ongoing government stimulus measures rolled out during the month of the general election. Higher demand for machinery and other capital goods, as well as gold imports, contributed to the surge in inbound shipments. Purchases also grew for raw materials, semi-finished products (53.3%), transport equipment (19.4%), and consumer goods (10.3%). By commodity, imports increased for most components, including gold, jewelry (131.9%), electrical machinery (91.4%), circuit boards (89.8%), other metal ores, scrap metal (34.1%), home appliances (27.0%), and chemicals (10.8%); but shrank for crude oil (-29.0%) and iron, steel (-5.4%). In the first two months of the year, purchases climbed 30.5%.
2026-03-24
Thailand Imports Hit Record High
Thailand’s imports surged 29.4% yoy to a record peak of USD 34.88 billion in January 2026, sharply accelerating from a 18.8% growth in the previous month and extending gains for a 20th consecutive month. It was also the fastest pace in purchases since December 2022, boosted by solid domestic demand on the back of government support measures to boost spending ahead of February's general election. Purchases grew for raw materials, semi-finished products (50.3%), capital goods (29.5%), other products (10.4%), consumer goods (7.9%), transport equipment (1.7%), while falling for fuels (-1.4%). By commodity, imports increased for circuit boards (197.9%), electrical machinery & components (60.5%), machinery & components (15.1%), jewelry (89.9%), other metal ores, scrap metal (19.3%), computers and components (12.8%), chemicals (1.9%), and home appliances (10.3%), (22.); but declined for crude oil (-5.6%), and iron, steel (-5.4%). In 2025, imports grew 12.9% to USD 344.94 billion.
2026-02-23
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