Thailand’s cross-border trade forecast to increase by 5%
Despite slower economic growth in neighbouring countries and zero-COVID measures in China, Thailand's cross-border trade is still expected to grow by at least 5% this year to 1.8 trillion THB (49.24 billion USD), driven by greater demand for gasoline, edible oil, tyres and auto parts.
Illustrative image (Photo: Bangkokpost) Pitak Udomwichaiwat, Director-General of the Thai Foreign Trade Department, said the department remains bullish on border trade prospects after a recent joint meeting with representatives of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Thai Industries and commercial ambassadors in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and China to evaluate the border trade situation in the second half, according to the Bangkok Post.
However, the meeting noted slower economic growth in neighbouring countries such as Laos and Myanmar, while the impact of stringent measures at China's key border checkpoints as part of its zero-COVID policy might pose key threats to cross-border trade.
The department recently reported overall cross-border trade (including transit trade) totalled 150 billion THB in July, up 1.85% from the same month last year.
Of the total, exports declined by 2.58% to 87.7 billion THB, while imports rose by 8.79% to 62.4 billion compared with the same period last year. Thailand enjoyed a trade surplus of 25.2 billion THB in July.
In the first seven months of this year, Thailand's border and cross-border trade tallied 1 trillion THB, up by 2.98% compared with the same period last year.
Exports contributed 595 billion THB, up by 0.61% from the first seven months of last year, with imports worth 405 billion THB, up by 6.65%.
As of Aug 24, with the easing of COVID-19 outbreaks, Thailand had opened 60 of its 97 total border checkpoints./.
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