High fuel costs force Southerners to fill the tanks with Malaysian oil

NARATHIWAT, 15 December 2010 (NNT) – In light of the rising fuel retail prices in Thailand, people living near Malaysian border have crossed over to the neighboring country to fill their tanks with much cheaper gasoline.

Fuel prices in the Malaysian border are reportedly a lot cheaper: benzene 95 costs only around 19 baht/liter and diesel is selling at 22 baht per liter; whereas in Thailand they cost up to 37 and 30 baht a liter respectively.

With nearly 20 baht/liter cheaper petrol, people from the Thai side have flocked to Malaysia, causing heavy traffic at the border.

Meanwhile, Thai authorities have arrested a number of smugglers who smuggle fuel from Malaysia to resell in Thailand; however, many of them have managed to escape the long arm of the law thanks to the long Thai-Malaysia border.