Thailand’s border trade dropped 23.6% in August to 63.9 billion baht, with trade with Cambodia almost collapsing, falling 99.9% to just 10 million baht, according to the Department of Foreign Trade (DFT).
Arada Fuangtong, director-general of the DFT, said combined border and transit trade in August reached 150.1 billion baht, down 3.1% year-on-year. Exports stood at 75.05 billion baht, while imports rose 12.2% to 75.07 billion baht, leaving a small deficit of 18 million baht.
In the first eight months of 2025, combined border and transit trade totalled 1.33 trillion baht, up 9.2% from last year. Exports increased 7.6% to 763.5 billion baht, while imports rose 11.4% to 574.9 billion baht, leaving a surplus of 188.7 billion baht.
Trade with neighbouring countries in August fell sharply. Exports dropped 30.1% to 33.95 billion baht, while imports slipped 14.5% to 29.98 billion baht, leaving Thailand with a 3.96 billion baht surplus.
Malaysia remained the biggest border trading partner at 26.96 billion baht (down 5.7%), followed by Laos at 23.13 billion baht (down 0.1%), Myanmar at 13.82 billion baht (down 20.8%), and Cambodia at just 10 million baht.
Top border exports included diesel (2.05 billion baht), computers and parts (1.35 billion baht), and refined oil products (1.11 billion baht). From January to August, border trade stood at 636.2 billion baht, down 3.6% from last year.
Transit trade, meanwhile, rose 20.9% in August to 86.2 billion baht, led by China (41.2 billion baht, up 12.9%), Singapore (14.3 billion baht, up 56%), and Vietnam (8.4 billion baht, up 27.8%).
The Nation reported that key transit exports were hard disk drives (7.13 billion baht), fresh durian (7.09 billion baht), and computers and parts (2.33 billion baht). Over the first eight months of 2025, transit trade surged 24.2% to 702.2 billion baht, with exports rising 26.5% and imports climbing 21.4%.
Separately, the DFT has also highlighted the significance of China in agricultural exports. China remains the dominant export market (see figure above) for key commodities like cassava, absorbing over half of the total export value, according to agency data.
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