BANG KOK: Imports from Thailand crossing at the Myawady border gate have declined from last year’s volume.
Between April and February, flow across the border totalled US$766.7 million – $66.2 million earned on exports and $700.5 million spent on imports from Thailand.
That represented an increase of $15.8 million in exports and a decrease of $21.9 million, compared to the figures from the same period last year.
Merchants blame a policy shift in car imports and rising tax rates for the drop in imports.
“According to the latest policy, only the cars with steering wheels on the left-hand side can be imported.
Japanese cars don’t have steering wheels on the left, so the import of [used] Japanese cars dropped,” said a merchant on the border.
He added that tax also rose from 3 per cent to 10 per cent, but that had less impact on imports than the car policy change.