BANGKOK, July 30 (Xinhua) -- The value of Thailand's border trade increased slightly in the first half of 2019, said the Department of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday.
Adul Chotinisakorn, director-general of the Department of Foreign Trade (DFT), told a press conference that the value of border trade in the first half of 2019 amounted to 686.44 billion baht (22.27 billion U.S. dollars), rising by 1.16 percent year-on-year.
A press statement by the DFT said the amount consisted of 381.70 billion baht (12.39 billion U.S. dollars) worth of exports and 304.73 billion baht (9.89 billion U.S. dollars) worth of imports, resulting in a trade surplus of 76.97 billion baht (2.49 billion U.S. dollars).
Malaysia was Thailand's biggest trading partner for border trade, followed by Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, the statement said.
The statement also said that in terms of trade in transit goods, China was the biggest trading partner with the trade value of 59.54 billion baht (1.93 billion U.S. dollars), up by 39.45 percent.
Adul said he expects border trade to expand in the second half 2019.
"I hope to see the annual value of border trade reaching 1.5 trillion baht (48.7 billion U.S. dollars) by 2020," Adul said.
