Thai exports to ASEAN grow 67% in Q1 under AFTA

BANGKOK, 1 May 2010 (NNT) — Thailand’s exports within ASEAN in the first quarter of 2010 have increased by 67.3% year-on-year, owing to the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) enforced at the beginning of the year.

According to Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot, the trade value of Thailand with the other 9 ASEAN nations in the first quarter of the year stands at 17.6 billion THB, increasing by 52% from last year when AFTA was not yet adopted. The figure contributes up to 20.4% or the majority of Thailand’s overall trade value. This includes a 67.3% increase in exports to ASEAN, worth 10.5 billion THB, and a 33.88% increase in imports, worth 7.1 billion THB, leading to a trade surplus from ASEAN of 3.4 billion THB.

In the first three months of this year, the main products exported by Thailand are sugar, cassava, rice, oil, auto appliances and parts, air conditioners, electricity circuits, and para rubber. The most important export markets for Thailand in ASEAN are Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam.

ASEAN is currently Thailand’s number one market for exports, taking up 23.7% of the overall export market and surpassing other major markets, such as the European Union, Japan and the US, which contribute to 11.7%, 10.3% and 10% respectively.

Behind Japan as the biggest importer from ASEAN, Thailand holds the second place and is responsible for 16.8% of ASEAN goods. Popular items imported into Thailand include capital goods, instant products and raw materials, such as natural gas, crude oil, computer and auto parts. These products are imported mostly to Malaysia contributing to 37.5%, followed by Singapore at 20.9%, Indonesia at 18.7% and Myanmar at 8.2%.

Meanwhile, from January-February 2010, the involvement of Thai businesses surged by 71.9% to reap the benefits from the 0% import tariff of AFTA, valued at 1.94 billion THB. Mr Alongkorn however said that only 20% of the Thai businesses were fully utilizing AFTA and thus encouraged more businesses to do so.