Thailand plans to seek new FTAs to increase exports
Thailand plans to seek more free trade agreements (FTAs) with countries in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America by the second half of this year, a move to expand new export markets.
Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand plans to seek more freetrade agreements (FTAs) with countries in the Middle East, Africa and LatinAmerica by the second half of this year, a move to expand new export markets.
Director-General of the Trade Negotiations Department AuramonSupthaweethum was quoted by local media as saying that the department expectsthe studies will take 6-12 months.
During the studies, she said public hearings will also beheld, with all stakeholders allowed to voice their concerns.
According to Auramon, the studies on the new FTAs wereproposed by the private sector at a recent meeting of a joint public-privatecommittee chaired by Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit to increase exports.
Thailand has 14 FTAs with 18 countries and is a member ofthe Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which came into force earlythis year.
According to the Foreign Trade Department of Thailand, theuse of FTA privileges by Thai exporters tallied 76.3 billion USD in 2021, thehighest in six years. The utilisation rate of FTA privileges was equivalent to78.2 percent last year, up from 76.5 percent in 2020.
The top five products using FTA privileges were trucks witha weight not exceeding five tonnes, fresh durian, passenger cars with 2,500ccengines, natural synthetic rubber products, and chicken meat and offal. Theimport value under FTA privileges in 2021 rose 28.5 percent to 44.9 billion USD.
Thailand’s export has recovered strongly in 2021 with growth of 17.1 percent.In the first two months of 2022, the increase was 12.2 percent to 44.74 billionUSD. In the first quarter of this year, the country’s export revenue isforecast to expand 7-8 percent./.
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Illustrative image (Source: AFP/VNA) 
