Thailand-Cambodia border closure could impact trade by 500 million baht daily

FTI president Kriengkrai Thiennukul told Thansettakij that the measure, which involves opening and closing border checkpoints according to the military’s schedule, would cause disruptions to the transport of goods across the border. 

He noted that some FTI members had already started feeling the impact, although it is currently impossible to assess the extent of the damage.

Thailand's border trade with Cambodia is valued at approximately 170 billion baht per year, with the Aranyaprathet checkpoint of Sa Kaeo province handling the most trade, accounting for roughly 110 billion baht, or about 64% of the total value, he explained.

“At this time, it’s difficult to assess the full impact, but if we calculate based on the total daily export value, it would be approximately 500 million baht per day,” he said. 

“However, it should be understood that not all of this 500 million baht is affected. Only a portion of it is impacted, so we could say it is somewhat affected.”

Nevertheless, Kriengkrai hoped that the situation would not drag on for too long, as the longer the delay, the greater the impact. 

He acknowledged that such extraordinary measures would inevitably cause disruption, but he understood that they were necessary to facilitate peaceful negotiations.

“Of course, disputes will cause both Thailand and Cambodia to suffer. Thailand has a trade surplus from exports of consumer goods, fuel, machinery and engines, which would be affected. But no one wants this to happen. Once it does, Thailand has to temporarily close the border to facilitate negotiations at the table,” he said.

“We hope the talks will result in a good outcome, with mutual understanding, allowing the checkpoints to return to normal so that both sides can resume trade without further disruption.”

Kriengkrai stated that there are no supporting measures at present, as FTI is awaiting the outcome of the ongoing negotiations. He noted that the negotiations have so far been progressing positively, and it is fortunate that there has been no fighting or war. 

He further explained that both sides had managed to defuse the situation before it escalated into a confrontation. The outbreak of war, he added, would cause significant damage to both sides and severely disrupt daily life and trade, which would be detrimental to all parties involved.

The Royal Thai Army recently implemented measures to adjust the opening and closing times, as well as the conditions for entry and exit at Thailand-Cambodia border points, in line with the current situation following tensions in the Chong Bok area of Ubon Ratchathani province.

These measures are supervised by the 1st and 2nd Army Regions, as well as the Chanthaburi and Trat border defense command, which has delegated authority to the local military commanders to carry out the operations. 

The measures are divided into four main steps, focusing on flexibility and adapting to the situation in each area, as follows:

• Limit border crossings to those with essential needs, such as trade, goods transportation and labour, while increasing scrutiny of high-risk groups.
• Reduce operating hours at border points to control movement.
• Close high-risk border points or those with security concerns.
• Close all border points along the border in cases of crisis or clear acts of aggression.

Thai government led by Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has instructed the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) to meet on June 14, while Cambodia maintains its stance on resolving the border issue through the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

In 2024, the value of Thailand-Cambodia border trade was approximately 174.53 to 175.53 billion baht, with the Aranyaprathet checkpoint (Sa Kaeo) having the highest trade value at 110.72 billion baht, accounting for 63.4% of the total.

In the first four months of 2025 (January–April), the total border trade amounted to 344.03 billion baht, an increase of 5.3%. In April 2025 alone, the total trade value was 15.8 billion baht.

Thailand's trade surplus was 109.16 billion baht in 2024. As for 2025 (based on partial data), Thailand recorded a trade surplus of 8.49 billion baht in April 2025, and a cumulative surplus of 89.30 billion baht in the first four months.

As of June 7, 2025, Thailand recorded a trade surplus of 35.84 billion baht, with exports valued at 50.23 billion baht and imports at 14.39 billion baht.