Goods transportation at a Battambang checkpoint shared border with Thailand’s Sakeo province has now resumed operations.
In the light of COVID-19 the border closed, but it has resumed in the last two weeks with time restriction, according to Battambang provincial governor Nguon Ratanak.
Although the border has just reopened, Ratanak said restriction will remain in place, leaving it opens from 7am to midnight. “They export pigs to Cambodia and we export agriculture products to Thailand,” he said.
Another international checkpoint shared between Cambodia’s Battambang province and Thailand’s Chonburi province is still open for goods transportation as normal. However it is not open to people..
The international border checkpoint in Battambang’s Sampov Luon district, connecting Thailand’s
Sakeo province is an import border gate for trade between the countries. The Federation of Cassava in Battambang President Ny Khon said recently that up to 1 million tonnes of cassava are exported through the border every season.
He noted cassava from Kompong Thom province is also transported through the border to enter Thailand.
The Bangkok Post recently reported a figure from the Thai Foreign Trade Department as showing that Cambodia’s cross-border trade with Thailand fell to $1.5 million in the first quarter as the coronavirus hit the global economy and led to the closure of dozens of checkpoints.
Keerati Rushchano, director general of the department, said outstanding performance was seen in exports to Cambodia, which saw continued growth of 14.3 percent in the first three months of the year despite the potentially deadly virus.
According to data from Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce the bilateral trade between the Kingdoms in the first three months was valued at $2.5 billion, a 31 percent hike over same period last year.
During the period, Cambodia’s total exports to Thailand reached $612 million, a 115 percent increase, while Cambodia imported from Thailand $1,891 million of goods, a 17 percent increase over the corresponding period last year.
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
