* Jan exports +10% y/y vs +8.8% in Reuters poll

* Jan imports +2.6% y/y; trade deficit at $2.76 bln

* Exports seen rising in Q1 - ministry

* Ministry targets export growth of 1% to 2% in 2024

(Recasts, adds details, comment from official in paragraphs 3-10)

BANGKOK, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Thailand's exports rose year-on-year for the sixth consecutive month in January and at a faster pace and more than expected, and the commerce ministry said shipments should continue to increase in the first quarter.

Customs-based exports climbed 10% in January from a year earlier, compared with a forecast rise of 8.8% year-on-year in a Reuters poll, and followed December's 4.7% annual rise.

January exports dipped 0.6% from the previous month, however.

The year-on-year export growth, which was the highest rate since June 2022's 11.7% annual increase, was helped by improved global demand and a low base last year, the ministry said, adding uncertainties from geopolitical issues could pose trade challenges in the future.

An economic slowdown in China, Thailand's major export market, is also a challenge, Keerati Rushchano, the ministry's permanent secretary, told a briefing.

He said exports in the first quarter "should still be positive", however.

The ministry is targeting export growth of 1%-2% this year, after a 1% fall in shipments last year.

"Export trends continue to expand, driven by the global economic recovery, easing of the global inflation situation, demand for food security measures from several countries, and economic cooperation in robust regions," the ministry said in a statement.

In January, exports of industrial goods rose 10.3% year-on-year while shipments of agricultural products jumped 14%. Rice exports rose 17.6% annually to 947,742 metric tons in January, with the value up 46% year-on-year.

Thailand, the world's second-largest shipper of the grain, expects 2024 rice exports to fall about 14.4% to 7.5 million metric tons due to lower production and increased competition.

In January, shipments to the United States rose 13.7% and those to Japan increased 1.0%, while exports to China rose 2.1%.

January imports were up 2.6% from a year earlier, creating a trade deficit of $2.76 billion.

(Reporting by Orathai Sriring, Kitiphong Thaichareon and Satawasin Staporncharnchai; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor and Raju Gopalakrishnan)