Border closure costing [Thai] traders dearly

25/04/2011
Bangkok Post

Trade worth 15 to 20 million baht a day is being lost due to the closure of the Chong Chom border checkpoint in Kab Choeng district of Surin because of the renewed fighting on the border with Cambodia, a local business leader said on Monday.

A large quantity of good, particularly fuel, was held up on the Thai side of the border unable to cross to its usual destination in O-Samet in Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province, said Nanthawat Kijsakulpaisarn, secretary-general of Surin Chamber of Commerce.

Cross-border trade at this checkpoint was worth some 800 million baht annually. The closure was costing between 15 and 20 million baht a day in lost revenues, he said.

He called on the Thai and Cambodian governments to urgently hold talks to end the conflict.

The border crossing has been closed since Friday.

Posted in: Bangkok Post