Thailand hails RCEP bonanza as trade passes THB10 trillion in first year
The first year of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has boosted Thailand’s trade volume with member countries by 7.11% to over 10 trillion baht, the government said on Wednesday.
Effective since January 1 last year, RCEP comprises 15 countries: the 10 members of Asean (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) plus the five countries with which Asean has free trade agreements – Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand.
Thai exports to RCEP members in 2022 were worth 4.8 trillion baht, with major markets in Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore and South Korea. Meanwhile, imports from RCEP members rose to 5.7 trillion baht, mostly from Brunei, Australia and Myanmar.
Export products that enjoyed the biggest benefit from the RCEP free trade zone were lubricant oil, canned tuna, tapioca chips, fresh durian, rice bran oil, and processed mackerel. Thailand’s biggest customer for these products was South Korea, followed by China and then Japan.
Thailand also imposed RCEP-related import privileges for synthetic textiles, plywood, engine components, ethylene polymer and fresh/dried grapes from China, South Korea and Japan.
Government spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri said RCEP had led to impressive expansion of Thailand’s economy and strengthened the competitive edge of Thai products in global markets.
RCEP is the world’s largest trading bloc, covering over 30% of the global population.
