Trade and investment

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© Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Thailand is the second largest economy in Southeast Asia and strategically located to serve markets in the region and beyond. Besides an attractive production base, its 66 million-strong population provides an interesting consumer market. The Netherlands is Thailand’s largest EU investor and an important trading partner with a reputation in those areas which Thailand takes a particularinterestin. These include agriculture & food, water & maritime, energy transition, and green & smart cities.

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The National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) reported the Thai Economy in Q4 2022 expanded by 1.4% y-o-y, decelerating from a growth of 4.6%  in Q3 2022. For the whole year 2022,the economy grew by 2.6%, accelerating from 1.5% in 2021. The growth was driven mainly by the tourism recovery and continual improvement of private consumption and investment.

The Thai Economy in 2023 is expected to expand at a quicker pace than in 2022, in the range of 3-4%, supported by stronger private consumption, a recovery in the tourism sector and pent-up demand following China’s reopening.

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The Netherlands-Thailand Trade and Investment

Trade in good

Thailand is the 2nd largest destination of Dutch merchandise exports to ASEAN (after Singapore) and always has a trade surplus over the Netherlands. In 2022, the value of merchandise trade between the Netherlands and Thailand was around 5.7 billion euros, rising 12.5% from 2021.

Positive developments were recorded in both exports and imports. In 2022, the Netherlands’ export of goods to Thailand grew by 14.8% to 1.4 billion euros, and import from Thailand increased by 11.8% to 4.3 billion euros.


Image: ©CBS

The Netherlands’ trade with ASEAN in 2022 (Change of ownership basis, million euros) Source: CBS, provisional figures

Thailand’s principal import items from the Netherlands are mainly industrial goods i.e. electronic integrated circuits, chemicals, machinery and parts, and scientific and testing instruments. Principal agricultural imports are milk and dairy products, animals and animal products, and other food.  

Similarly, Thailand’s top export items to the Netherlands are concentrated on computers and parts, printers and telephone sets, and other electrical equipment and parts, as well as electronic integrated circuits. For agricultural products, key exports are prepared poultry and rubber products.

Services Trade

Bilateral trade in services between the Netherlands and Thailand grew 44.4% from 610 million euros in 2021 to 881 million in 2022, attributed mainly by the border reopening that supported more travels both ways.

Unlike trade in goods, the Netherlands has a trade surplus over Thailand on services trade. In 2022, the Netherlands exported 569 million euros of services to Thailand, increasing 36.1% from 2021. Main Dutch exports to Thailand were: technical, trade-related and other business services; professional and management consulting services; transport services; and charge for the use of intellectual property.

On the other hand, the Netherlands imported 312 million euros of services from Thailand in 2022, surging 62.5% y-o-y. Main imported services were travel (personal), transport services, and professional and management consulting services

Investment

The Netherlands is the biggest EU source of foreign direct investment in Thailand, and no. 5 globally following Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and the US. As at the end of the third quarter of 2022, cumulative direct investment from the Netherlands to Thailand were 16.8 billion USD, accounting for 6.2% of total foreign direct investment in Thailand and 55.4% from the EU. (Source: The Bank of Thailand Statistics)

The Netherlands is also the largest EU destination for Thai Direct Investment (TDI) overseas and no. 3 globally, after Hong Kong and Singapore. As at the end of the third quarter of 2022, accumulated TDI in the Netherlands was 18.8 billion USD, representing 10.8% of total TDI abroad and 78.0% to the EU.

Factsheets Doing Business in Thailand

The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangkok publishes yearly factsheets on different sectors in Thailand. Are you interested in doing business in Thailand? Please have a look at the these documents below.

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