Trade between Thailand and China has shot up to 24 billion baht (60 million US dollars) over the first 20 months of the enforcement of the bilateral free trade area (FTA) agreement, with Thailand holding the balance of trade by over 11 billion baht (27.5 million US dollars), according to the Director-General of the Department of Foreign Trade, Rachane Potjanasuntorn.

Rachane was quoted by the Thai News Agenyc as saying Saturday said that, from Oct. 2003 to May 2005, the department had issued certification of origin documents for goods worth 24 billion baht (60 million US dollars), of which 99 percent were agricultural products.

Customs Department figures from October 2003 to April 2005 show that the bulk of agricultural exports to China - around 63 - is accounted for by cassava, followed by nine percent for dried longans, nine percent for fresh longans, seven percent for fresh durians and four percent for frozen fish and prawns.

During the same period, Thailand imported 10 billion baht (25 million US dollars) worth of Chinese goods under the terms of the FTA agreement, 90 percent of which were fruits and vegetables, including apples, pears, mushrooms, carrots and nuts.

This gave Thailand a trade surplus on products affected by the deal of over 11.1 billion baht (277.5 million US dollars).

Source: Xinhua