The Department of Foreign Trade expects that Myanmar’s new government will positively impact border trade, as it plans to facilitate business and relax regulations.Various regulations.Cross-border and border trade in March 2026 rose 6.5%, with first-quarter growth at 2.5%, despite total trade with Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos declining. Meanwhile, cross-border trade continued to grow strongly, surging 41.4%, benefiting from significant expansion in electronics imports.
Arada Fuengthong, Director-General of the Department of Foreign Trade, revealed the border and cross-border trade situation, stating that after Myanmar’s new elected government took office, it shows positive tendencies to facilitate business.business.The government is easing economic, trade, investment, and financial regulations as appropriate, which will build confidence among businesses for trade and investment in Myanmar. At the same time, it announced the reopening of the border checkpoint at the Second Friendship Bridge on the Myawaddy side opposite Mae Sot district, Tak province, Thailand, after it had been temporarily closed since August 2025. This will help restore Thai-Myanmar border trade to normal conditions and boost overall border trade value with neighboring countries this year.Temporary checkpoint closure.since August 2025, which will bring the Thai-Myanmar border trade situation backto normal conditions.This will result in overall border trade value between Thailand and neighboring countries expanding more.expanding.more.
Regarding Thailand’s border and cross-border trade in March 2026, total trade value was 178.32 billion baht, growing 6.5% compared to the same period last year. Thai exports were 93.26 billion baht, up 1.6%, and imports were 85.06 billion baht, up 12.4%, resulting in a trade surplus of 8.2 billion baht. The total for the first quarter of 2026 reached 478.9 billion baht, up 2.5% year-on-year, with exports at 256.89 billion baht, an increase of 0.4%, and imports at 222.01 billion baht,up 5.1%.with a trade surplus of 34.88 billion baht.
When breaking down the border trade value with the four neighboring countries—Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Malaysia—in March 2026, total trade was 72.69 billion baht, down 21.6%. Thai exports were 44.76 billion baht, down 19.8%, imports were 27.93 billion baht, down 24.3%, and Thailand had a trade surplus of 16.84 billion baht. Specifically, trade with Cambodia was zero baht, down 100%, followed by Myanmar at 17.09 billion baht, down 7.4%, and Laos at 25.57 billion baht, down 4.4%. Only Malaysia saw an increase of 3.1%, totaling 28.03 billion baht.
Key border export products included diesel fuel worth 6.05 billion baht, other refined oils at 1.92 billion baht, and computers and related equipment at 1.62 billion baht. In the first quarter of 2026, border trade totaled 203.45 billion baht, down 22.7%, with exports rising 27.1% to 118.74 billion baht and imports falling 20.0% to 84.71 billion baht. Thailand had a trade deficit of 72.86 billion baht.
The valueof cross-border trade from Thailandto southern China, Vietnam, and Singapore in March 2026 was 105.63 billion baht, up 41.4%, with exports at 48.50 billion baht, up 34.8%, and imports at 57.13 billion baht, up 47.4%. Cross-border trade with China was highest at 50.49 billion baht, up 19.7%, followed by Vietnam and Singapore at 17.72 billion baht, up 159.5%, and 17.07 billion baht, up 80.8%, respectively. Important export products included hard disk drives worth 9.87 billion baht, telephone receivers and equipment at 5.66 billion baht, and computers and other equipment at 2.96 billion baht. This led to a first-quarter 2026 total cross-border trade of 275.45 billion baht, up 35.0%, with exports rising 40.0% to 138.14 billion baht and imports increasing 30.4% to 137.31 billion baht.
Regarding border checkpoint openings and closures, on 26 March 2026, Chiang Rai province announced the closure of two Thai-Myanmar concession points in Mae Sai district: Tha Ban Sai Lomjoy in Wiang Phang Kham subdistrict and Tha Ban Koh Sai in Mae Sai subdistrict, to prevent illegal activities along the border. This reduced Myanmar’s border checkpoints from 21 to 19 and total checkpoints from 94 to 92. Meanwhile, Cambodia closed all 18 border checkpoints, leaving Thailand currently with 68 open checkpoints and neighboring countries with 57 operating checkpoints.
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