In September 2025, Thailand's imports surged by 17.1% year-on-year, marking an increase from the 15.8% rise recorded in the previous month, and surpassing market expectations of a 10.6% growth. This represents the 16th consecutive month of increasing imports and the most significant growth rate since May. The rise can be attributed to heightened domestic demand, following Bangkok's urgent initiatives to address issues related to subdued consumption, elevated household debt, and the impact of U.S. tariffs.
Imports experienced notable growth across several categories: transport equipment rose by 31.8%, capital goods by 23.7%, raw materials and semi-finished products by 18.9%, consumer goods by 16.6%, and other goods by 15.1%. However, there was a decline in fuel imports, which decreased by 0.8%.
When broken down by commodity, the data shows considerable increases in imports of circuit boards (106.5%), electrical machinery and components (61.0%), home appliances (20.9%), machinery (15.7%), iron and steel (11.8%), other metal ores and scrap metal (10.3%), crude oil (2.0%), and chemicals (1.4%). Conversely, there were decreases in the imports of jewelry (-24.8%) and computers and components (-2.5%). For the first nine months of the year, cumulative imports climbed by 11.9%, amounting to USD 254.58 billion.
