Border and Transit Trade Surges 50.8% in September
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The Department of Foreign Trade revealed that border and transit trade in September 2026 surged 50.8% to 220,908 million baht, driven by a 71.7% jump in transit trade, especially to Singapore and Vietnam, which expanded over 100% on electronics and technology products, pushing the nine-month total past 1.76 trillion baht. Thailand posted a trade surplus of 191,898 million baht.
On October 31, 2026, Arada Fuengthong, Director-General of the Department of Foreign Trade, released border and transit trade figures for September 2026. Total trade value reached 220,908 million baht, up 50.8% year-on-year, comprising exports of 113,770 million baht (+51.8%) and imports of 107,138 million baht (+49.7%). Thailand recorded a trade surplus of 6,632 million baht for the month.
Consequently, for the first nine months of 2026, border and transit trade totaled 1,764,313 million baht (+18.8%), with exports of 978,105 million baht (+16.6%) and imports of 786,207 million baht (+21.6%), yielding a trade surplus of 191,898 million baht.
Border trade with the four neighboring countries in September 2026 totaled 80,741 million baht (+24.4%), with exports of 43,072 million baht (+21.0%) and imports of 37,669 million baht (+28.5%), giving a total surplus of 5,403 million baht. Malaysia led with 39,972 million baht (+49.6%), followed by Laos at 24,539 million baht (+1.0%) and Myanmar at 16,230 million baht (+16.8%). Border trade with Cambodia was zero.
Key border export products in September 2026 included diesel fuel (3,821 million baht), other refined petroleum products (1,864 million baht), and other industrial goods (1,652 million baht). For the first nine months, border trade totaled 672,124 million baht (-4.2%), with exports of 375,250 million baht (-9.3%) and imports of 296,873 million baht (+3.2%).
Transit trade to third countries in September 2026 totaled 140,167 million baht (+71.7%), with exports of 70,698 million baht (+79.7%) and imports of 69,468 million baht (+64.4%). China was the top partner at 59,365 million baht (+37.5%), followed by Singapore at 37,023 million baht (+150.8%) and Vietnam at 15,556 million baht (+102.5%).
Major transit export products in September 2026 were telephones and equipment (15,977 million baht), computers and equipment (12,704 million baht), and hard disk drives (9,642 million baht). For the first nine months, transit trade totaled 1,092,189 million baht (+39.3%), with exports of 602,855 million baht (+41.8%) and imports of 489,334 million baht (+36.3%).
The Director-General stated that the 50.8% expansion in September was mainly driven by transit trade growth, which surged to 140,167 million baht (+71.7%), particularly exports to Singapore (+150.8%) and Vietnam (+102.5%) in technology and electronics such as telephones, computers, and hard disk drives. Exports to China also grew 7.9%, led by hard disk drives and fresh durian.
Overall, for the first nine months of 2026 (January–September), transit trade value surpassed 1 trillion baht, reaching 1,092,189 million baht, up 39.3%. Meanwhile, border trade with neighboring countries in September 2026 expanded 24.4%, with Malaysia as the main driver, both exports of 18,741 million baht (+30.46%) and imports growing.
