Higher income for farmers in the first eight months of this year is one of the key factors contributing to the growth in domestic consumption, according to the Fiscal Policy Office (FPO).
FPO adviser Wuttipong Jittungsakul said farmers' income during the period expanded by 7.1% year-on-year, compared with year-on-year growth of only 0.3% for all of 2021.
Real farmers' income in August alone expanded by 9.7% year-on-year, representing continued growth from earlier in 2022, he said.
Sales of passenger cars and motorcycles in August also surged by 62.7% and 67%, respectively.
The expanding domestic consumption in August resulted in value-added tax revenue growing by 10.1% year-on-year.
Sales of commercial vehicles in August surged 61.2% year-on-year, while fees from property sales transactions in the same month rose 29.2% year-on-year, which reflected higher real estate activity.
Exports in August increased by 7.5% year-on-year to US$23.6 billion, representing an 18-month continuous expansion. The key export markets were the Middle East, Asean, India and the US.
Shipments to the Middle East expanded by 38.4% year-on-year, while exports to Asean rose by 19.1%, India by 18%, and the US by 16.3%.
The number of foreign tourist arrivals in August skyrocketed by 7,677% year-on-year to 1.17 million, most of which were from Malaysia, India, Vietnam, Laos and South Korea.
The number of domestic tourists jumped by 1,770% year-on-year to 16.7 million.
Headline inflation in August stood at 7.86%, while core inflation was 3.15%. The public debt-to-GDP ratio was 60.8%.
In July the FPO forecast that Thai GDP would grow by 3.5% this year, boosted by domestic demand and the recovery of the tourism sector.
