The Klong Luek checkpoint in Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaeo province is a main Thai border trade gateway to Cambodia (Source: Bangkokpost.com) Bangkok (VNA) – The value of Thailand’s border trade rose slightly in the first half of 2019 and is expected to expand in the second half, the Department of Foreign Trade under the Thai Ministry of Commerce said on July 30.
Speaking at a press conference, the department’s director-general Adul Chotinisakorn said that border trade reached 686.44 billion baht (22.27 billion USD) in the first six months of this year, up 1.16 percent year-on-year.
The amount consisted of 381.7 billion baht (12.39 billion USD) worth of exports and 304.73 billion baht (9.89 billion USD) worth of imports, resulting in a trade surplus of 76.97 billion baht (2.49 billion USD).
Malaysia was Thailand’s biggest trade partner in terms of border trade, followed by Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.
In terms of trade in transit goods, China was the biggest trader with the trade value of 59.54 billion baht (1.93 billion USD), up 39.4 percent year-on-year.
Adul predicted Thailand’s border trade would expand in the second half of 2019 and hit 1.5 trillion baht (48.7 billion USD) in 2020.-VNA
VNA
