In Tak's remote districts, authorities have begun controlling fuel purchases by limiting each vehicle to 500 baht, prohibiting filling fuel into containers and jerrycans. Some gas stations have closed, citing that the Ministry of Finance has stopped fuel deliveries. At the same time, many Myanmar nationals are flooding Mae Sot, bringing their vehicles to fill fuel tanks after prices soared.
At 1:00 p.m. on 3 March 2026, reporters reported that due to rising fuel prices—especially on the first day that fuel stations in Mae Sot District, Tak Province, raised prices—a large number of Myanmar residents from Myawaddy Township, Karen State, Myanmar, brought vehicles, mostly passenger vans, across the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge 1 at Ban Rim Moei, Tha Sai Luad Subdistrict, Mae Sot District, Tak Province, to refuel in large numbers.
They queued to fill fuel at several stations. It was not only Myanmar vehicles; Thai vehicles, including private cars and transport trucks, also lined up to refuel.
The border area between Thailand and Myanmar in Tak Province is subject to the government's 'Three Cuts' measure, which prohibits exporting fuel to Myanmar to prevent scammers from using fuel to generate electricity, except for Myanmar nationals who bring their private vehicles into Thailand to refuel.
In remote areas such as Umphang District, Tak Province, about 165 kilometers from Mae Sot, one gas station posted a notice to customers and residents of Umphang District stating that all vehicles can purchase fuel up to 500 baht only. It also prohibited filling fuel into containers and jerrycans due to the abnormal situation.
Another gas station in Umphang District, only 5 kilometers from the first, has closed and stopped selling fuel, citing that the Ministry of Finance has ceased fuel deliveries.