Thailand-Cambodia border closure could impact trade valued at 170 billion baht

Thailand-Cambodia border closure measures could impact border trade valued at 170 billion baht, the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) warned on Tuesday.

FTI president Kriengkrai Thiennukul told Thansettakij that the measure, which involves opening and closing border checkpoints according to the military’s schedule, would cause disruptions to the transport of goods across the border. 

He noted that some FTI members had already started feeling the impact, although it is currently impossible to assess the extent of the damage.

Thailand's border trade with Cambodia is valued at approximately 170 billion baht per year, with the Aranyaprathet checkpoint of Sa Kaeo province handling the most trade, accounting for roughly 110 billion baht, or about 64% of the total value, he explained.“At this time, it’s difficult to assess the full impact, but if we calculate based on the total daily export value, it would be approximately 500 million baht per day,” he said. 

“However, it should be understood that not all of this 500 million baht is affected. Only a portion of it is impacted, so we could say it is somewhat affected.”

Nevertheless, Kriengkrai hoped that the situation would not drag on for too long, as the longer the delay, the greater the impact. 

He acknowledged that such extraordinary measures would inevitably cause disruption, but he understood that they were necessary to facilitate peaceful negotiations.

“Of course, disputes will cause both Thailand and Cambodia to suffer. Thailand has a trade surplus from exports of consumer goods, fuel, machinery and engines, which would be affected. But no one wants this to happen. Once it does, Thailand has to temporarily close the border to facilitate negotiations at the table,” he said.

“We hope the talks will result in a good outcome, with mutual understanding, allowing the checkpoints to return to normal so that both sides can resume trade without further disruption.”

Kriengkrai stated that there are no supporting measures at present, as FTI is awaiting the outcome of the ongoing negotiations. He noted that the negotiations have so far been progressing positively, and it is fortunate that there has been no fighting or war. 

He further explained that both sides had managed to defuse the situation before it escalated into a confrontation. The outbreak of war, he added, would cause significant damage to both sides and severely disrupt daily life and trade, which would be detrimental to all parties involved.

(2025/06/10-00:00)