Border trade in the first 8 months expanded by 7.1%.

Border and cross-border trade in August 2024 continued to expand by +16.2%, with a total of 7.1% growth in the first 8 months. Exports of energy products, fresh durian, rubber, and rubber products continued to grow. Mr. Noppadol Kantamas, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Foreign Trade, revealed the figures for border trade and cross-border trade in August 2024, with a total trade value of 154,987 million baht, an expansion of 16.2% when compared to the same period last year, with exports of 88,053 million baht (+18.4%) and imports of 66,934 million baht (+13.4%), with Thailand having a trade surplus of 21,119 million baht, resulting in a total trade value of border trade and cross-border trade in the first 8 months of 2024 of 1,225,371 million baht (+7.1%), with exports of 709,459 million baht (+6.2%) and imports of 515,913 million baht (+8.4%), with Thailand having a trade surplus in the first 8 months of 2024 of 193,546 million baht. Border trade with 4 neighboring countries in August 2024 ha d a total trade value of 83,699 million baht (+15.1%), with exports of 48,635 million baht (+7.9%), imports of 35,064 million baht (+27.0%), and Thailand had a trade surplus of 13,571 million baht, with border trade with Malaysia. The highest value was 28,589 million baht (+20.7%), followed by Lao PDR at 23,143 million baht (+12.8%), Myanmar at 17,530 million baht (+16.5%), and Cambodia at 14,436 million baht (+7.3%). Important border export products in August 2024 were diesel at 2,473 million baht, other refined oil at 1,507 million baht, and computers and other equipment at 1,482 million baht. As a result, in the first 8 months of 2024, border trade had a total trade value of 659,917 million baht (+5.4%), of which 404,717 million baht (+3.4%) was exported, 255,200 million baht (+8.8%) was imported, and Thailand had a total trade surplus of 149,517 million baht. In terms of cross-border trade with third countries, in August 2024, the total trade value was 71,289 million baht (+17.5%), with exports of 39,419 million baht (+34.6%) and imports of 31,870 million baht (+1.5%), with cross-border trade with China The highest value was 41,786 million baht (+18.1%), followed by Singapore and Vietnam with values ??of 9,154 million baht (+26.2%) and 6,541 million baht (+61.8%), respectively. Important cross-border export products in August 2024 were fresh durian at 7,941 million baht, hard disk drives at 6,459 million baht, and TSNR rubber at 4,091 million baht. As a result, in the first 8 months of 2024, cross-border trade had a total trade value of 565,454 million baht (+9.1%), of which exports were 304,741 million baht (+10.1%), imports were 260,713 million baht (+8.0%), and Thailand had a total trade surplus of 44,028 million baht. Mr. Noppadol revealed that the demand for energy products from Thailand from neighboring countries continues to expand, such as diesel (+3.4%) and other refined oils (+10.27%), as well as consumer goods such as powdered milk (+24.8%) and non-alcoholic beverages (+3.41%), which are still in demand by neighboring countries. As a result, Thailand's border exports have expanded for the fifth consecutive month. Meanwhile, cross-border trade, fresh durian exports have expanded again (+4.6%) in August 2024, resulting in Thailand exporting fresh durian across the border for the first 8 months of 2024 worth 85,281 million baht (+7.1%), with China still the main market at 85,180 million baht (+7.0%). In addition, the demand for rubber and rubber products in the world market remains high. This resulted in Thailand's border and transit exports of the aforementioned product groups expanding significantly in August 2024, such as concentrated latex (+25.5%), TSNR block rubber (+74.5%), smoked rubber sheet level 3 (+71.3%), and rubber gloves (+38.2%). The main export markets for the aforementioned product groups were China, Japan, Malaysia, the United States, and India. The Department of Foreign Trade continues to prioritize the implementation of the 'Strategy for Promoting Border and Cross-Border Trade and I nvestment 2024-2027' in line with the government's policy to achieve the target of border and cross-border trade value of 2 trillion baht by 2027. In the first 8 months of 2024, cooperation of government agencies in promoting border and cross-border trade facilitated and supported Thai entrepreneurs to conduct transactions more conveniently. In the remaining period of 2024, Thailand's border and cross-border trade is likely to continue to expand due to the high demand for Thai products from neighboring countries and other countries, as well as more convenient border trade channels as important factors. -517-Thai News Agency Source: Thai News Agency