Traders call for border reopening

Traders call for border reopening

The volume of goods traded with Myanmar through the border in Chiang Rai is expected to grow twofold if Myanmar agrees to reopen the checkpoint in Mae Sai district, according to Chiang Rai's Chamber of Commerce.

In line with the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, the land border between Thailand and Myanmar in Tak was reopened yesterday to spur the economy along the shared border.

However, the checkpoint in Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district, which lies directly opposite Tachileik in Myanmar's Shan state, remained closed to general traffic as of yesterday.

Pakaimas Vierra, vice-president of Chiang Rai's Chamber of Commerce, said the volume of goods traded through Chiang Rai will nevertheless increase, as the border with Laos -- which provides a connection to China -- is open to all traffic.

A trade summary from Chiang Rai's Office of Commercial Affairs showed trade between Thailand, Laos and China was valued at 88.9 billion baht between January and November last year.

Trade with Myanmar through the Mae Sai customs checkpoint stood at 22.8 billion baht, an increase of 36.19% or 6 billion baht compared to the same period in 2021.

Trade with Laos was valued at 9.61 billion baht, an increase of 106.64% or 4.96 billion baht from 2021's figures.

Trade with China was valued at 56.4 billion baht, an increase of 45.32% or 5.28 billion baht from 2021. Most goods exported were fruits, worth 40.2 billion baht.

"Once the Thai-Myanmar border reopens, the value of border trade will increase at least by twofold, due to higher demand and cheaper cost of goods transport from China," Ms Pakaimas added.

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