01Key Takeaways
- Thailand imported $288.50 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 4.2% from $301.02 billion in 2022, the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset.
- Electrical machinery led every import category at 20.3% ($58.65 billion), with mineral fuels ranking a close second at 18.2% ($52.41 billion).
- China was Thailand's largest import partner, supplying 24.5% of imports, worth $70.83 billion.
- The top three import partners together accounted for 42.1% of total import value.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $236.2B | $206.2B | $267.3B | $301.0B | $288.5B |
03Top Import Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | $70.8B | 24.5% |
| 2 | Japan | $31.2B | 10.8% |
| 3 | United States | $19.4B | 6.7% |
| 4 | Other Asia, nes | $16.6B | 5.8% |
| 5 | United Arab Emirates | $15.7B | 5.5% |
| 6 | Malaysia | $13.1B | 4.5% |
| 7 | South Korea | $8.7B | 3.0% |
| 8 | Indonesia | $8.3B | 2.9% |
| 9 | Singapore | $8.1B | 2.8% |
| 10 | Vietnam | $7.7B | 2.7% |
04Top Import Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electrical Machinery and Equipment and parts thereof; Sound Recorders and Reproducers, Television Image and Sound Recorders and Reproducers, and Parts and Accessories of such Articles | $58.6B | 20.3% |
| 2 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $52.4B | 18.2% |
| 3 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $30.9B | 10.7% |
| 4 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $14.8B | 5.1% |
| 5 | Natural or Cultured Pearls, Precious or Semi-Precious Stones, Precious Metals, Metals Clad with Precious Metal, and Articles thereof; Imitation Jewellery; Coin | $13.6B | 4.7% |
| 6 | Iron and Steel | $12.1B | 4.2% |
| 7 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $9.8B | 3.4% |
| 8 | Articles of Iron or Steel | $7.8B | 2.7% |
| 9 | Optical, Photographic, Cinematographic, Measuring, Checking, Precision, Medical or Surgical Instruments and Apparatus; Parts and Accessories thereof | $6.6B | 2.3% |
| 10 | Miscellaneous Chemical Products | $5.9B | 2.0% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Import Value Pulled Back in 2023 After a Two-Year Climb
Thailand imported $288.50 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 4.2% from $301.02 billion in 2022. This is the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset. The dataset covers a full five years, from 2019 through 2023.
Import value stood at $236.21 billion in 2019. It fell to $206.15 billion in 2020, the low point of this five-year window. It then climbed for two consecutive years in a row, reaching $267.33 billion in 2021 and $301.02 billion in 2022, the high point of this five-year window, before easing back to $288.50 billion in 2023.
This dataset does not explain the 2020 dip or the two-year climb that followed. Import value in 2023 nonetheless remained well above every year in this window before 2022. A decline of 4.2% is a larger move than the essentially flat 0.8% dip recorded on the export side of trade for this country. Both sides nonetheless trace the same overall shape: a dip, a sharp two-year climb, and then a pullback. That shared shape across imports and exports suggests a broader economic swing affecting this country's trade as a whole in 2023, rather than a shift confined to just one side of the ledger.
Electronics and Fuel Lead an Import List Reflecting Energy Dependence
Electrical machinery and equipment led every import category in 2023, worth $58.65 billion, or 20.3% of the total, the largest single category on this list. Mineral fuels ranked a close second at 18.2%, worth $52.41 billion. Roughly three quarters of Thailand's total crude oil supply is imported, as domestic production has declined toward exhaustion, a dependence reflected in mineral fuels ranking among this dataset's top import categories.
Machinery and mechanical appliances followed at 10.7%, worth $30.93 billion. Vehicles added 5.1%, worth $14.75 billion, and pearls, precious stones and precious metals contributed 4.7%, worth $13.56 billion. Machinery imports likely include components later assembled into the finished goods that dominate this country's export list, describing a manufacturing cycle running in both directions.
Iron and steel contributed 4.2% ($12.12 billion), and plastics added 3.4% ($9.80 billion). Iron or steel articles contributed 2.7% ($7.83 billion), and optical and medical instruments added 2.3% ($6.65 billion). Chemical products not elsewhere classified closed out the top ten at 2.0%, worth $5.86 billion, the smallest share among the ten categories listed here. Electronics and fuel together account for well over a third of total import value. That pairing mirrors electronics also leading the export side of trade for this country. The remaining eight categories on this list spread out fairly evenly beneath the top two, none of them coming close to matching either electronics or fuel on their own.
China Leads a Partner List Spanning Asia and the Middle East
China was Thailand's largest import partner in 2023, taking 24.5% of imports, worth $70.83 billion. Japan ranked second at 10.8%, worth $31.20 billion. United States followed at 6.7%, worth $19.44 billion. Together, these top three partners accounted for 42.1% of total import value, a wider gap between first and third place than shows up among many other partner lists in this dataset.
A category labeled "Other Asia, nes," a recognized catch-all classification within international trade statistics for shipments not assigned to a single specific origin, ranked fourth at 5.8%, worth $16.60 billion. United Arab Emirates followed at 5.5%, worth $15.75 billion, consistent with the Middle East's role as a major crude oil supplier noted above.
Malaysia contributed 4.5% ($13.12 billion), and South Korea added 3.0% ($8.67 billion). Indonesia followed at 2.9% ($8.28 billion), and Singapore added 2.8% ($8.13 billion). Vietnam closed out the top ten at 2.7% ($7.74 billion), the smallest share among the ten partners listed here. Eight of these ten entries are economies from Asia or the Middle East, leaving only the United States as a partner from outside the region. Ranks four through ten here are packed within roughly three percentage points of each other, a tight cluster sitting well below the more separated top three.
Taken together, this dataset's most recent confirmed year describes an import profile led by electronics components and crude oil, easing back after a two-year climb that mirrors the export side of this country's trade. That profile is sourced from a partner base concentrated in Asia and the Middle East, led by China but including the same UAE oil connection noted above.