Bangkok - Thailand's exports contracted more than 20 per cent year-on-year in January as the global economic crisis began to take its toll, Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said Wednesday.

The Ministry of Commerce will reveal January's official export figures on Friday, Korn told reporters.

It has been estimated that January's exports fell by about 25 per cent, year-on-year.

Thailand is an export-driven economy, with imports/exports accounting for about 70 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

The financial crisis and resulting economic slowdowns in Thailand's main markets, such as the US, EU and Japan, have inevitably led to declining demand for Thailand's chief exports which include electronics, electrical appliances, automobiles, textiles, garments, agricultural commodities and processed foods.

Korn acknowledged that the GDP growth in the first quarter of 2009 will likely fall compared with the previous quarter, as the global economic crisis had not yet hit rock bottom, the Bangkok Post online news service reported. (dpa)