Exports of durian from Thailand to China through the Laos-China railway rose by 365 percent in the first five months of this year thanks to shorter transit times and advantages under free trade agreements, Thai media reported.
The rail route is opening up new opportunities for Thai products to enter the Chinese market as it significantly reduces the transit time to less than 15 hours, down from two days by road, according to Thairath Online, citing the Director General of the Department of Trade Negotiations of Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce, Auramon Supthaweethum.
The standard-gauge Laos-China railway converges with the one-metre-gauge Laos-Thailand railway at the Thanaleng Dry Port in Vientiane, which has enabled direct shipment of containers by rail between the two countries.
Thai fruit exports to China have increased considerably since the Laos-China railway came into operation in December 2021, the Thai director general was quoted as saying.
She noted that shipments through Thailand’s northeastern dry port of Nong Khai, which borders Laos, were valued at US$55 million in 2022, a huge increase from the US$2.55 million recorded in 2021.
Thai fruit and shipments of other goods are benefitting from privileges offered under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)-China Free Trade Area and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Ms Auramon said.
Thailand’s exports to China via the Laos-China Railway were valued at US$80.22 million from January to May this year, 72 percent of which were shipments of fresh durian, according to the Bangkok Post, citing the Department of Trade Negotiations.
Thanks to cost-effective services brought by rail transport, Thai exporters have enjoyed lucrative opportunities.
The President of Thailand’s Kaocharoen Train Transport Co., Ltd., Panya Paputsaro, whose company has made several shipments of cargo, mainly durian, from Thailand to China via Laos, told the Vientiane Times previously that he has experienced huge cost cuts.
Shipment by rail, he said, cuts transport costs by 30 percent compared to transport by road.
Through the China-Europe rail network, Mr Panya said his company has also shipped freight from Thailand to Russia, with the transport time taking only about two weeks, as opposed to at least 40 days by sea.
By Times Reporters
Source: Vientiane Times
August 17, 2023
