hai shipments abroad in November were valued at US$11.87 billion (S$17.2 billion), down 18.6 per cent compared to the same period last year. --PHOTO: REUTERS
BANGKOK - THAI exports in November fell for the first time in six years, mainly due to the closure of Bangkok's main international airport by protesters, the Commerce Ministry said on Monday.
Thai shipments abroad in November were valued at US$11.87 billion (S$17.2 billion), down 18.6 per cent compared to the same period last year.
'This is the first drop in exports and the lowest in our records since 2002,' said Commerce Ministry permanent secretary Siripol Yodmuangcharoen.
Demonstrators blockaded Bangkok's main Suvarnabhumi international airport for eight days between November and December to press for the resignation of the government loyal to ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
They lifted the siege of Suvarnabhumi and the smaller Don Mueang domestic airport after a court disbanded the pro-Thaksin ruling party and barred then-prime minister Somchai Wongsawat from politics.
New premier Abhisit Vejjajiva, who won a parliamentary vote last week, has said that boosting the economy is a priority - although his foreign minister openly backed the airport protests at the time. -- AFP
