Value of Thailand’s cross-border trade rises 7.8% during current government’s tenure

Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan said on Wednesday that the value of cross-border trade, including trade conducted along the borders, rose by 7.8 per cent during the first six months of the current government’s tenure.

Pichai made the statement while accompanying Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to a meeting on the cross-border trade situation at the Nakhon Phanom Customs Office.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister and Commerce Minister were briefed on progress related to the border trade development centre, the advancement of special economic zones, and the development of trade routes linking Thailand with neighbouring countries.

Following the meeting, Pichai told reporters that the value of cross-border and border trade from October 2024 to March 2025 totalled 908.347 billion baht, representing a 7.8 per cent increase compared to the same period the previous year.

This figure included exports worth 509.08 billion baht (a 10.8 per cent increase) and imports worth 399.269 billion baht (a 4.2 per cent increase), resulting in a trade surplus of 109.809 billion baht for Thailand.

For the first three months of 2025 (January to March), the value of cross-border trade was 466.842 billion baht, a 10.6 per cent increase year-on-year. Exports accounted for 255.825 billion baht (a 9.2 per cent rise), while imports were 211.018 billion baht (up 12.5 per cent).

Pichai also noted that bilateral trade between Thailand and Laos reached 197.829 billion baht during the same period.

In Nakhon Phanom province alone, the value of border trade for the first three months of the year was 22.383 billion baht, comprising 10.463 billion baht in exports and 11.921 billion baht in imports.