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Feb exports -4.7% y/y vs -6.9% in Reuters poll
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Feb imports +1.1% y/y vs +2.1% in poll
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Trade deficit at $1.11 bln vs $1.45 bln deficit in poll
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Ministry sees exports down in H1 before improving in H2
(Adds details, key exports, markets)
By Kitiphong Thaichareon and Orathai Sriring
BANGKOK, March 30 (Reuters) - Thailand's customs-based
exports contracted for a fifth straight month but by less than
forecast in February, as the global economy slowed, with
shipments expected to drop further in the first half of the
year, the Commerce Ministry said on Thursday.
Exports, a key driver of growth, dropped 4.7% in February
from a year earlier, better than a 6.9% fall forecast in a
Reuters poll, and against January's 4.5% decline.
In February, imports rose 1.1% from a year earlier, compared
with a forecast rise of 2.1%, resulting in a trade deficit of
$1.11 billion for the month.
Shipments are expected to show a further drop in the first
and second quarters before improving in the second half, Phusit
Ratanakul Sereroengrit, head of the ministry's department of
international trade promotion, told a news conference.
"There remains a large stockpile which slows imports from
other countries," he said. "The second half should be more
positive," he added.
The ministry will maintain its target of 1%-2% export growth
this year, official Poonpong Naiyanapakorn said.
February's export fall, which was also due to a high base
last year, was led by lower shipments of industrial goods, with
electronics down 4.7% year-on-year and hard disk drives tumbling
45%, the ministry said in a statement.
The value of rice exports rose 7.7% in February from a year
ago but the volume dropped 5.7% to about 600,000 tonnes.
February's exports to the United States dropped 9.5%
year-on-year while those to Southeast Asia fell 5.8%. Exports to
China declined 7.9% from a year earlier, the ministry said.
(Reporting by Orathai Sriring, Kitiphong Thaichareon and
Satawasin Staporncharnchai; Editing by Ed Davies)
