Thailand’s trade with Israel drops 4.98% due to Hamas conflict
The Israel-Hamas conflict has pulled Thailand-Israel trade down by 4.98% in the first nine months of this year, the Department of International Trade Promotion’s Tel Aviv office said on Saturday.
Bilateral trade during the period totalled 32.39 billion, of which 20.69 billion accounted for exports and 11.71 billion baht in imports.
Thailand’s top five export products are auto and auto parts, gems and jewellery, canned and processed seafood, wood and wood products and rice.
Its top five imports, meanwhile, are gems and jewellery, fertilisers and pesticides, machinery and machinery parts, electrical circuits, and vegetables and fruits.
“If this is a prolonged war, it could affect Israel’s economy and trade with many countries,” the office said.
It added that it needs to closely monitor the situation and analyse impacts before it can release guidelines on dealing with the war’s impact on bilateral trade.
Israel recently signed an agreement to hire 10,000 workers from Sri Lanka to tackle labour shortages in the country’s agricultural sector, the office added.
US Financial firm JPMorgan Chase expects Israel’s GDP to grow 2.5% and 1.9% this year and in 2024 compared to its previous forecast of 3.2% and 2%, respectively.
