Japan becomes Thailand’s largest export destination

Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement (JTEPA) has paid off as the tariff cuts under this agreement has made Japan Thailand’s largest export destination.

The bilateral trade between Thailand and Japan totalled US$28.96 billion in the seven months to July this year, up 18% over the same period in 2007. This has surpassed the US-bound shipments. Among all the shipments, natural rubber, shrimp and prawns, animal feed, and lenses were the major items recording higher trade values. Shipments of lenses, prisms and mirrors from Thailand to Japan rose 53% year-on-year over the period.

Japan, on the other hand, still ranks the top as the biggest exporter to Thailand. While bilateral trade has accelerated, investments from Japan to Thailand have shrunk, according to the Japanese Chamber of Commerce (JCC) in Bangkok.

JCC president Fukujiro Yamabe said Thailand should step up promotional privileges and ease regulations to lure Japanese investors to set up regional operating headquarters (ROH) in Thailand.