Thailand’s border trade with third countries reaches 106 billion baht, marking a 41.4% year-on-year increase. Exports climb 34.8% to 48.5 billion baht, while imports jump 47.4% to 57.1 billion baht.
Third-Country Trade Leads Growth
Trade with China tops the list at 50.5 billion baht, followed by Vietnam at 17.7 billion baht and Singapore at 17.1 billion baht. Key exports feature hard disk drives worth 9.87 billion baht, phones and peripherals at 5.66 billion baht, and computers and peripherals at 2.96 billion baht.
In the first quarter, third-country border trade totals 275 billion baht, up 35%. Exports rise 40% to 138 billion baht, and imports increase 30.4% to 137 billion baht.
Arada Fuangtong, director-general of the Department of Foreign Trade (DFT), notes that imports of major electronic products grow 47.4%. This includes computer components like assembled printed circuit boards and automatic data processing parts at 9.61 billion baht, up 569%; radios, smartphones, and TVs at 5.56 billion baht, gaining 48.4%; and magnetic tapes and disks for computers at 5.21 billion baht, rising 22.2%.
Imports from China expand 34.9%, from Singapore 14.5%, and from Vietnam 208.5%.
Neighboring Countries See Decline
Border trade with four neighboring countries drops 21.6% in March to 72.7 billion baht. Exports fall 19.8% to 44.8 billion baht, and imports decline 24.3% to 27.9 billion baht.
Trade with Malaysia records the highest value at 28.0 billion baht, up 3.1%. Laos trade decreases 4.4% to 25.6 billion baht, Myanmar drops 7.4% to 17.1 billion baht, and Cambodia registers zero.
For the first quarter, neighboring border trade falls 22.7% to 203 billion baht. Exports grow 27.1% to 119 billion baht, while imports decrease 20% to 84.7 billion baht.
Total Border Trade Expands
Thailand’s overall border trade, including third countries, rises 6.5% in March to 178 billion baht, with exports at 93.3 billion baht and imports at 85.1 billion baht.
In the first quarter, total border trade increases 2.5% to 479 billion baht, comprising exports of 257 billion baht and imports of 222 billion baht.
