Bangkok: The president of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce assessed that the measures to restrict Thai-Cambodian border crossings will affect Thai exports by only 5-10 percent because it is not a permanent border closure. He believes that both countries are aware of the impact on people’s livelihoods.
According to Thai News Agency, Associate Professor Dr. Thanawat Polvichai, President of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, spoke about the economic impact of Thailand restricting border crossings with Cambodia, stating that such measures will affect border trade, especially on the Cambodian side, which relies on imports of consumer goods from Thailand. Meanwhile, Thailand will also have an impact on its supply chain, as it imports most agricultural raw materials.
Thailand exports more than 300 billion baht to Cambodia per year, of which more than 200 billion baht comes from border trade. The most important checkpoints are Aranyaprathet and the Thai-Cambodian Friendship Bridge checkpoint in Sa Kaeo Province, which have a combined trade value of more than 100 billion baht. It is estimated that if the situation continues for 1 year, the value of Thai exports will decrease by 50 billion baht. However, initially, it is expected that the trade value will not decrease significantly.
The current visible impact is that Aranyaprathet checkpoint has measures to prohibit large trucks from crossing the border, causing operators to switch to using pickup trucks to transport goods instead, which increases transportation costs. Some operators have had to adjust to using Ban Nong Ian checkpoint, near the Thai-Cambodian Friendship Bridge, which is still open for trucks to cross.
Associate Professor Dr. Thanawat assessed that both countries should understand the impact of the use of border crossing restrictions on border trade and people’s livelihoods, as can be seen from the fact that after Thailand began to control the closing and opening times of the border, the tense situation quickly eased.