Thailand-Peru pact will double trade

  
Peruvian Ambassador to Thailand Jorge Castaneda told The Nation the two countries should wrap up a comprehensive pact covering 95 per cent of trade in goods, services and investment liberalisation by late this year, so the pact can be enforced in early 2013.
“Bilateral trade and investment should grow after the liberalisation of both markets, since current trade and investment are still small because of distance and tariff obstacles. After fully implementing the FTA, both countries should learn to trade more and exchange more investment across the region,” Castaneda said. Bangkok and Lima inked the FTA covering 70 per cent of trade in goods last year and the pact was implemented in January, when tariffs on more than 4,000 goods were eliminated.
The two governments are currently talking about further liberalising trade covering another 25 per cent of goods as well as the service and investment sectors this year.
The eighth round of talks on the comprehensive Thailand-Peru FTA will be held in Lima this month, and negotiations are expected to be finalised in the next two rounds so the heads both nations can ink the pact during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Leaders Summit in Russia this year.
The ambassador said that once the comprehensive pact comes into full force early next year, it would give businesses from both sides the opportunity to explore each other’s markets.
He explained that Peruvian investors and traders were thinking about using Thailand as a springboard for the rest of the Asean, because the market will become much larger after the Asean Economic Community is launched in 2015. In the meantime, Peru’s giant cola producer Big Cola has already invested in Thailand, and more firms are planning to invest in the near future. Big Cola already enjoys a 30-per-cent market share in Thailand.
Meanwhile, Peru is calling on Thai investors to explore opportunities in Peru, as it could serve as a gateway to Latin America.
Distance should no longer be an obstacle for trading and investment for the two countries, and plenty of opportunities are waiting for Thai traders and investors to do business in Peru and other countries in the region, the ambassador noted.
To promote more trade and investment between the two nations, a group of Peruvian businesspeople will visit Thailand and Vietnam midyear. Castaneda is also encouraging Thai traders to join “Expoalimentaria”, one of the biggest food fairs on the South Pacific coast of South America, which will be held in Lima next September.
The Thai Commerce Ministry’s Department of International Trade Promotion will also encourage businesses to explore opportunities in Peru this September. Last year, bilateral trade almost doubled from US$430.74 million in 2010 to $662.94 million (Bt20.42 billion). Thailand’s exports to Peru were valued at $398.25 million, while imports were worth $264.68 million.
Export from Thailand to Peru dropped year on year by 4.16 per cent in January to $18.4 million because of the local flood crisis, while imports from Peru surged by 211.46 per cent to $22.69 million. Major export products from Thailand are motor vehicles, parts and accessories, as well as electrical appliances. Imports from Peru include natural gas, aquatic products, metal and ore, and garments.