Thailand's agricultural economy shrank by 4.2 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2015, the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE) said Thursday.

The purchasing power of Thailand's trade partners in Middle East and Africa has declined along with falling oil prices, thus incurring a 9.4-percent reduction in Thailand's revenue from agriculture-based exports, OAE secretary-general Lersak Rewtrakulpaiboon was quoted by the National News Bureau of Thailand as saying.

The revenue declined even further due to the prolonged drought, which has affected dozens of Thai provinces since late 2014, according to Lersak.

In the second half of this year, the agricultural sector is expected to see a further contraction of 3.3-4.3 percent, he said, adding the livestock, fisheries and forestry sectors are still performing well.

The OAE will continue to closely monitor the impact of the drought on the sector as well as that of China's economic performance on the Thai economy, Lersak said. 

Source:Xinhua