Thailand
Thailand: Border trade rises 6.51% as of August
Thailand’s border trade remains on course for steady growth, with figures over the first eight months this year rising 6.51% from the same period last year.
Adul Chotinisakorn, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, said overall border trade, including transit trade, amounted to 922 billion baht in the first eight months of the year, helped by higher demand for Thai goods and the government-initiated Young Entrepreneur Network Development Programme (YEN-D).
Transit trade comprises businesses connected with the passage of goods through a country to their destination.
Launched in 2015 to encourage Thai entrepreneurs to invest in neighbouring countries, the YEN-D programme features familiarisation trips and special training courses for young businesspeople in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand to better understand each other’s cultures and regulations.
To be selected, Thai entrepreneurs have to be under 45 and come from families that have businesses. Governments in other participating countries have similar criteria.
Mr Adul said border exports fetched 525 billion baht, up 0.54%, with border imports coming in at 397 billion, up 15.6%, yielding a trade surplus of 128 billion.
Malaysia was the biggest partner for border trade, making up 370 billion baht, a 1.73% increase year-on-year, followed by Laos with 142 billion, up 5.27%, Myanmar 128 billion, up 6.09%, and Cambodia 93.2 billion, up 11.9%.
“Thailand’s border trade prospects are brilliant, thanks to growing demand for Thai products in neighbouring countries and the Commerce Ministry’s continuous promotional activities,” he said.
The department recently led Thai YEN-D participants to visit Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam for business-matching with local counterparts.
It also hosted a meeting of the Thailand-Myanmar joint trade committee and the Mekong Business Forum & Trade Show 2018, aiming to boost bilateral trade between Thailand and Laos.
However, Mr Adul said the recent heavy floods in Laos and Myanmar slowed Thailand’s border trade and transit trade the past few months.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1546110/border-trade-rises-6-51-as-of-august