Bangkok: Thai-Cambodian trade contracted sharply by 97.5% in July, attributed to escalating border tensions. The Department of Foreign Trade reported a dramatic drop in trade to just 376 million baht following border clashes.
According to Thai News Agency, the closure of 18 border crossings between July 24-28, 2025, resulted in exports plummeting to 370 million baht, a 97.0% drop, while imports dwindled to 6 million baht, marking a 99.8% decrease. Additionally, the Myanmar government announced the closure of the Mae Sot-Myawaddy border crossing on August 18, 2025, to curb imports lacking proper licenses and prevent smuggling activities.
Ms. Arada Fuangthong, Director-General of the Department of Foreign Trade, revealed that discussions were held with the Myanmar commercial attach© to Thailand on August 19, 2025, regarding the border crossing closure. Myanmar authorities have intensified inspections on illegal imports, aiming to mitigate revenue losses and reduce the trade deficit, resulting in long queues of goods vehicles at the border.
The Myanmar authorities suggested rerouting through Ranong Port to Kawthaung, citing better logistics systems. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce is seeking dialogue with the Myanmar Ambassador to Thailand to discuss easing border restrictions, although no response has been received yet.
Despite the significant decline in Thai-Cambodian trade, overall Thai border and cross-border trade for July 2025 expanded by 5.0%, reaching a total value of 166,025 million baht. This growth was primarily driven by a 32.5% increase in cross-border trade.
Cross-border trade reached a value of 99,805 million baht, with a 55.0% increase in exports and an 11.3% increase in imports. Key markets contributing to this growth included China, Singapore, and Vietnam, with significant increases in exports of fresh durian, fresh mangosteen, hard disk drives, and computers and equipment.
The Director-General highlighted that from January to July 2025, total border and transit trade amounted to 1.18 trillion baht, reflecting an 11.0% increase and resulting in a trade surplus of 188.683 billion baht.