Posted on 07 Jul 2014
Thailand recorded an average trade surplus of Bt338 billion
annually during the past three years for agricultural products with the
countries planning to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
(RCEP), according to the Kingdom's Office of Agricultural Economics.
The OAE also revealed that the international trade value
among potential RCEP members over the past three years was Bt653 billion, with
an average increase of 7 per cent annually.
The RCEP will comprise the 10 countries of Asean plus India,
China, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
For the first four months of this year, Thailand had total
trade with the 15 nations amounting to Bt238 billion, up 7 per cent from the
same period last year, resulting in a trade surplus of Bt110 billion.
Doing business with the RCEP is meant to be a way of
reducing export dependence on the United States and Europe.
"The fifth round of RCEP talks in Singapore in June
[further] developed the existing concept of integrating Asean+3 and Asean+6 to
support a powerful economic conglomeration allowing Asean in remain as a
regional economic driver," said OAE secretary-general Anan Lila.
At the next round of negotiations in August, the aims and
proposed patterns of trade liberalisation will be discussed.
The top Thai agricultural exports to the region were sugar,
processed foods, cassava, shrimp and rice, while the imports were fish, milk,
grain and fruit products.
