Thai-Australian trade relations remain strong

[webfact]

Thai-Australian trade relations remain strong
By Digital Content



BANGKOK, June 16 -- Despite the May 22 bloodless coup in Thailand, trade relations between the kingdom and Australia remain strong, Thai Commerce Ministry adviser Ampawan Pichalai said Sunday.

Although the Australian government has downgraded relations with Thai military leaders following the military coup by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), trade relations between the two countries continue without hindrance, Ms Ampawan, acting director of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office said.

Thailand and Australia have enjoyed warm relations more than 60 years while the two countries maintain several agreements on trade cooperation, she said, including the Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA) and the Thailand-Australia Business Council.

It is believed that the downgrade on military cooperation would not affect trade relations, she said.

The combined trade value between Thailand and Australia during the first four months this year amounted about US$4.39 billion, representing 2.9 per cent of Thailand’s total trade value.

Thailand has enjoyed a trade surplus against Australia during the past five years.

The TAFTA agreement will enable Thai small- and medium-sized enterprises to export more to Australia after Canberra opens its market more widely for Thai services and investment.

Investment in the kingdom will also increase because the country is strategically located in the heart of mainland Southeast Asia, she added. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2014-06-16

[EricBerg]

Yep all the blahblah in favor of lil sis and her lot after they were kicked out was just producing air. Business as usual. Same goes for the American government.

[seajae]

now if only someone informed the customs people that there is a free trade agreement between these two countries as they really like to charge sh*tloads to bring anything from Australia into Thailand

[chainarong]

Thailand was Australia's fifth biggest trading partner a few years back , don't know how they rank now, might have slipped a few notches since 2000.

[simple1]

Thailand was Australia's fifth biggest trading partner a few years back , don't know how they rank now, might have slipped a few notches since 2000.

Got to say I was surprised Oz govt stopped anti terrorism training for Thai security forces when they announced the sanctions package due to the coup.

As of 2013 financial year ranked 6th for import/export; details at:

http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/fs/thai.pdf

[masuk]

now if only someone informed the customs people that there is a free trade agreement between these two countries as they really like to charge sh*tloads to bring anything from Australia into Thailand

How very true cobber. If only we could buy a 4 litre red for $11.00 here. or cheese at the Woolies price.

It never seemed to me that Thai food in Australia was all that expensive. Certainly not 300% tax/duty.

[BlackJack]

now if only someone informed the customs people that there is a free trade agreement between these two countries as they really like to charge sh*tloads to bring anything from Australia into Thailand

How very true cobber. If only we could buy a 4 litre red for $11.00 here. or cheese at the Woolies price.

It never seemed to me that Thai food in Australia was all that expensive. Certainly not 300% tax/duty.

yes

no label wines from Margaret River for $1 a bottle and here over 1000 baht

something wrong

wine is health food

it should be sold as such

[JimHuaHin]

It is interesting how Australian diary products and wine are 3-5 times more expensive here than in Australia, but Australia carrots (at Tesco-Lotus) are about a third to half the price they are in Australia.

[kinmaew]

Why are Thais allowed to buy land in Australia 100% in their name but Australians are not allowed to do same in Thailand?

When asked a Thai the response was "Poor Country"

They actually have more billionaires than in AUS I am told.

[masuk]

It is interesting how Australian diary products and wine are 3-5 times more expensive here than in Australia, but Australia carrots (at Tesco-Lotus) are about a third to half the price they are in Australia.

Ever tried to get drunk on carrot juice?

Nothing at all like Fosters!!

[masuk]

Why are Thais allowed to buy land in Australia 100% in their name but Australians are not allowed to do same in Thailand?

When asked a Thai the response was "Poor Country"

They actually have more billionaires than in AUS I am told.

Yesterday, the NSW government announced that there will be no more housing grants for first time home buyers from overseas.

Seems they were latching onto the grant and weren't even Aussies.

Try doing that in Thailand. You can't even buy a house!

[BSJ]

It's pretty clear to me that the Aus-Thai free trade agreement is on an even keel.....NOT!

[kurnell]

Australia-Thai trade relations are still strong in my house too. Wife orders things, I pay for them

[MK1]

A prime opportunity for the Abbott Government to start negotiating with Thailand on off-shore refugee processing now that the vacancy sign has believable gone up.

Recent reporting suggests there may be up to 142,000 vacancies.

Edited June 17, 2014 by MK1

[Tomtomtom69]

now if only someone informed the customs people that there is a free trade agreement between these two countries as they really like to charge sh*tloads to bring anything from Australia into Thailand

I'm quite sure Thai customs are well aware of the FTA. I don't know what you are trying to import into Thailand, but first of all you have to look at the specifics of the agreement. Not all items are tariff exempt, at least not until 2020 or so. In any case, using a customs or logistics broker is the way to send goods/services between the two countries. You may not be permitted to do it yourself and if you try, you won't get any tariff exemptions because you don't have any paperwork.

[Chao Lao Beach]

Car going to Australia from LOS 6% tax

From Australia to LOS 200% tax

It is called FREE TRADE

Can't Aussie own the majority of Thai companies though.

[Tomtomtom69]

It is interesting how Australian diary products and wine are 3-5 times more expensive here than in Australia, but Australia carrots (at Tesco-Lotus) are about a third to half the price they are in Australia.

3-5 times more expensive cheese in Thailand than Australia? Doubtful. Most Aussie cheese sold at say Tesco Lotus, Big C, Foodland, Tops etc. are about 170-180 Baht, which is around A$6 a pack, not much more than what you'll pay at Coles or Woolies back home, where the same cheese cost around A$4-5 or so.

The reason why Aussie cheese is more expensive in Thailand than in Australia should be quite obvious - transport costs and retailer's profit (or greed if you like). As for wine, I believe that the tariffs on Aussie wine were reduced on EIF (entry into force) of the agreement, but are still taxed at something like 40%. Over the next few years the tariffs on Australian wine will gradually be reduced down to 0 I believe. Without googling TAFTA, this is what I remember reading.

As for Aussie carrots being cheaper in Thailand, I can only assume dumping. That's the only way of explaining why Aussie wines like Jacob's Creek can be sold for as little as US$4 a bottle on sale in a liquor shop (bottle shop) in somewhere like Santa Cruz, CA (normally US$6-7) when in Australia the same wine costs around A$7-10 depending on the retailer. This example is from 2009, but I doubt much has changed.

Consider another example: Thai produced pickups (utes) sold in Australia. Despite only being subject to only very minimal import taxes, a typical 4x4 dual cab sold in Thailand for under 1 million Baht (around A$30000-33000) ends up costing A$46000-51000 sold in Australia. Shipping costs, customs clearance and retailer profit are the main reasons why the price is about 50% higher than in Thailand.

Edited June 17, 2014 by Tomtomtom69

[Tomtomtom69]

Car going to Australia from LOS 6% tax

From Australia to LOS 200% tax

It is called FREE TRADE

Can't Aussie own the majority of Thai companies though.

Yes 60% in some cases, depending on the industry.

I think what the Aussie officials who negotiated TAFTA didn't realise, or at least, didn't want to realise is that despite Aussie cars not being subject to an import tariff anymore that would apply specifically to Aussie cars, the usual import taxes that apply to all foreign imported vehicles still applies. According to a friend who's son is one of the managing directors of Ford in China, amongst other reasons the unfair treatment that TAFTA allowed Thailand to gain, with respect to Thai cars exported to Australia being able to gain a massive advantage over Aussie cars going the other way is what contributed to killing the Aussie car manufacturing industry in the end. Of course, Australia never exported many vehicles to Thailand to begin with, but I think Aussie officials focused more on the products and services that Australia has a comparative advantage in rather than trying to establish a level playing field for all types of products/services traded.

With a fair bit of nostalgia I saw a brand new Chevrolet plated Commodore here in Bangkok yesterday. I am not sure what the local name is for that model here (probably not Commodore) but I am wondering if that vehicle was made in Australia and exported here or manufactured locally. However, since that was the first and only new Australian vehicle I have ever seen in Thailand (I have seen a few old 90's Commodores though) it's either a one off, imported under TAFTA and re-badged, or manufactured locally just that I've never heard of Aussie models being manufactured here. Does anyone know?

[cpofc]

Why are Thais allowed to buy land in Australia 100% in their name but Australians are not allowed to do same in Thailand?

When asked a Thai the response was "Poor Country"

They actually have more billionaires than in AUS I am told.

Yesterday, the NSW government announced that there will be no more housing grants for first time home buyers from overseas.

Seems they were latching onto the grant and weren't even Aussies.

Try doing that in Thailand. You can't even buy a house!

Could we be shutting the gate after the horse has bolted?

It was Kevin Rudd who opened it BTW

The Australia Network TV still runs Ads aimed at Asian Buyers for Australian Residential Property.

Selling the farm? Yes. Literally.

Australians are more concerned about making a quick, lucrative quid than they are about retaining ownership of their land. Maybe because we have so much of it that noone really gives a bugger. Just becasue we have been stupid doesn't mean the Thais have to be.

Nowadays Home ownership for young Australians is pretty much out of their reach. The Great Australian Dream is now just that.

Who would blame the Thais for not reciprocating.

Open the Foreign Floodgates!

At the time of the GFC, Australian household’s carried more household debt as a percentage of household disposable income than their American household counterparts. To cover all bases and ensure there wasn’t a devastating collapse of the housing market like in the United States, the government also “streamlined” the administrative requirements for the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).

As part of these changes, temporary residents (e.g. Chinese) could purchase Real Estate in Australia without having to report or gain approval from the FIRB in a bid to help support the market. It was sold to the Australian public as allowing the FIRB to concentrate on larger issues in the ‘National Interest’.

By March 2010, the media was flooded with articles (Australia for Sale) on Australian’s being outbid by an army of Chinese residents, effectively pricing Australian’s out of their own housing market. But the ‘streamlining of administrative requirements’ actually meant no records were kept, or more specifically it would seem that these foreign temporary residents no longer needed to lodge applications with the FIRB. There was public outcry and no real data to support just how big or small this issue actually was.

The outcry had grown so intense, that on the 24th April 2010 the government buckled and a tightening of foreign investment rules relating to residential property was announced, complete with a package of new civil penalties, compliance, monitoring and enforcement measures. The government even went to lengths to set up a 1800 hot-line for residents to report suspicious property buyers and help calm an outraged public.

The press release by the former Assistant Treasurer, Nick Sherry said “The Rudd Government is acting to make sure that investment in Australian real estate by temporary residents and foreign non-residents, is within the law, meets community expectations and doesn’t place pressure on housing availability for Australians.”

Australia for sale Written by admin on March 27, 2010 – 4:27 pm

With mortgage approvals in Australia falling of a cliff, and Real Estate agents reporting such a strong property market at a time when the market is flooded with near record levels of listings, onehas to ask who is buying?

Mortgage approvals in Australia are down 21 percent from its peak in September 2009. The last month of data shows a 7.9 percent fall for January making it the biggest fall in mortgage approvals for a decade. Since then banks have been continuing to tighten loan value ratios (LVR) for both first home buyers and investors, suggesting bigger falls are to come. It is starting to become common to require a 20 percent deposit, which means for both investors and first home buyers, some sizable and solid savings are required before they can enter the market.

Residential property markets around the country are inundated with listings. The Sydney Morning Herald has reported Sydney has a record 2860 houses and units for auction this month, double the 1400 listings the same time last year. Despite this, Real Estate agents are continuing to report a shortage of homes for sale to create an atmosphere of utmost urgency – buy now or be priced out for ever they claim. The Melbourne Age even writes the “Red Hot Melbourne market starts to glow white!”

So if the number of listings is going through the roof, yet the number of loan approvals through the floor, what is underpinning the market at the moment? Cash savings you say – very funny, we spent all our savings years ago.

The answer may come from the easing of restrictions for foreigners to purchase properties in Australia. In 2008 during the GFC, the government needed to find ways to get more money to flow into Australia to underpin the “strength” of our economy. One such way was to remove some restrictions and make it easier for foreigners to purchase property without government or FIRB (Foreign Investment Review Board) approval. The government called it streamlining of administrative requirements.

While all statistics sourced from Real Estate agents and their lobby groups should be taken with a grain of salt, some RE agents are suggesting as much as 30 percent of all residential property sales at present are to foreigners. With a surge in listings, and loan approvals down 21 percent to the end of January 2010, there is no reason to doubt that number. If anything it could be a little light on, but remember Real Estate agents exaggerates the numbers, so potentially the market isn’t glowing as white hot as some would want you to believe. Maybe the white is actually a yellowish-orange tinge at 3200K, not 6500K (degrees Kelvin, a measure of colour temperature).

As these changes to foreign investment were likely to become politically sensitive, no records are kept on the number of purchases made by foreigners. This makes understanding what exactly is happening in the market a difficult one.

On the back of such a strong housing market, the RBA has been cranking up the rates in a bid to slow the market down before it makes our current and unprecedented housing bubble a magnitude worse. But will interest rates have any effect to foreign investors using funds sourced outside of Australia? If the market is read wrong, the RBA could be penalising Australians, both the unproductive property market and productive businesses which underpin and create jobs and real value.

In a finance industry conference held in Sydney yesterday, RBA Governor Glenn Stevens said that if the purchase of property by foreigners who borrow abroad becomes “a large-scale phenomenon,” then raising interest rates in Australia wouldn’t “make any difference to them.”

“The question of the role of foreign purchases is an important one and it’s one we’re giving some attention to”, adding that hard facts about the trend is difficult to find. The RBA is closely watching foreign investment in our housing market and if it is contributing to the surge in house prices in recent quarters.

The government now has a big problem, both politically and financially. If they can’t seize back control of the housing market, Australian citizens will be forced to accumulate more debt and spend more on housing expenses as a percentage of the household budget at the expense of discretionary spending further impacting local jobs and businesses. Not only will we not be able to afford basic housing, we will have no jobs.

“In an environment where the affordability of housing is very poor, perceptions that foreigners are fueling house prices could become an issue” for the government, said Shane Oliver, senior economist at AMP Capital Investors.

[cpofc]

On the subject of Cheese. (Aust & NZ)

There are not alot of farangs where I live, but my local Tesco Hypermart stocks the same imported products as all the others.

Thus, the imported, perishable products don't exactly go racing off the shelves, and as they approach their use by date they are moved to the 'Discount Bin' As we know 'Use By Dates' err greatly on the side of caution.

So, I usually pick up my cheese from the discount bin, where the price is usually discounted 50%, e.g. a B200 block is marked down to B100. A bargain in any man's language.

Farang khee nok?

[fabphil]

Why are Thais allowed to buy land in Australia 100% in their name but Australians are not allowed to do same in Thailand?

When asked a Thai the response was "Poor Country"

They actually have more billionaires than in AUS I am told.

Because our useless govt has got no balls to tell other countries to fxxk off and not getting our land freehold..

[bigbamboo]

On the subject of Cheese. (Aust & NZ)

There are not alot of farangs where I live, but my local Tesco Hypermart stocks the same imported products as all the others.

Thus, the imported, perishable products don't exactly go racing off the shelves, and as they approach their use by date they are moved to the 'Discount Bin' As we know 'Use By Dates' err greatly on the side of caution.

So, I usually pick up my cheese from the discount bin, where the price is usually discounted 50%, e.g. a B200 block is marked down to B100. A bargain in any man's language.

Farang khee nok?

Does the letter 'c' in your name stand for cheap or Charlie?

[Bcgardener]

Trade between Oz and Thailand under FTA is a bit of a minefield from my perspective exporting from here to Oz. Lots of paperwork at both ends. Most manufactured goods enter Australia duty free anyway under various tariff concessions that are not Country specific. There is very little manufacturing to protect left there now.

I agree on the cheese prices, Bega cheese is just a little more expensive here compared to say Woolies or Coles but is actually cheaper than the convenience stores. Australian lamb is actually cheaper here in Makro than an Australian supermarket like Woolies

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[dinooz]

It is interesting how Australian diary products and wine are 3-5 times more expensive here than in Australia, but Australia carrots (at Tesco-Lotus) are about a third to half the price they are in Australia.

3-5 times more expensive cheese in Thailand than Australia? Doubtful. Most Aussie cheese sold at say Tesco Lotus, Big C, Foodland, Tops etc. are about 170-180 Baht, which is around A$6 a pack, not much more than what you'll pay at Coles or Woolies back home, where the same cheese cost around A$4-5 or so.

The reason why Aussie cheese is more expensive in Thailand than in Australia should be quite obvious - transport costs and retailer's profit (or greed if you like). As for wine, I believe that the tariffs on Aussie wine were reduced on EIF (entry into force) of the agreement, but are still taxed at something like 40%. Over the next few years the tariffs on Australian wine will gradually be reduced down to 0 I believe. Without googling TAFTA, this is what I remember reading.

As for Aussie carrots being cheaper in Thailand, I can only assume dumping. That's the only way of explaining why Aussie wines like Jacob's Creek can be sold for as little as US$4 a bottle on sale in a liquor shop (bottle shop) in somewhere like Santa Cruz, CA (normally US$6-7) when in Australia the same wine costs around A$7-10 depending on the retailer. This example is from 2009, but I doubt much has changed.

Consider another example: Thai produced pickups (utes) sold in Australia. Despite only being subject to only very minimal import taxes, a typical 4x4 dual cab sold in Thailand for under 1 million Baht (around A$30000-33000) ends up costing A$46000-51000 sold in Australia. Shipping costs, customs clearance and retailer profit are the main reasons why the price is about 50% higher than in Thailand.

Apart from the reasons you mentioned regarding the cost of the pickups,another consideration towards the cost difference is the Australian standards of vehicle safety is much higher than the pickups for local consumption.As a panelbeater for many years and seen many many wrecks in my time I was and still am amazed how easily a Thai spec built car,pickup,minibus disintegrates on impact.Aussie spec cars have side intrusion bars in the doors to keep some sort of integrity of the body on impact,and I wouldn't be surprised if a different guage steel was used,and spot weld spacing different. Every lil bit counts in keeping costs down locally.

Edited June 17, 2014 by dinooz

[GrantSmith]

With a fair bit of nostalgia I saw a brand new Chevrolet plated Commodore here in Bangkok yesterday. I am not sure what the local name is for that model here (probably not Commodore) but I am wondering if that vehicle was made in Australia and exported here or manufactured locally. However, since that was the first and only new Australian vehicle I have ever seen in Thailand (I have seen a few old 90's Commodores though) it's either a one off, imported under TAFTA and re-badged, or manufactured locally just that I've never heard of Aussie models being manufactured here. Does anyone know?

Captiva or Cruze? They're manufactured locally and then rebadged before being sent to Australia... Or was it the actual 'commodore' model?

But if you go into the Embassy you'll see a couple of home grown Holden's floating around..

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[GrantSmith]

The import tariffs on wine will be zero as of 1 January 2015, currently at 4%.

300% sounds more expensive than it is, in actuality.

Given that Jacob's Creek is owned by a multinational conglomerate there would be many ways they can reduce the cost, especially in the states (shipped in huge bladders and bottled in the USA) plus very low tax on booze in the states especially when compared to Australia (WET and GST)

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Tomtomtom69]

With a fair bit of nostalgia I saw a brand new Chevrolet plated Commodore here in Bangkok yesterday. I am not sure what the local name is for that model here (probably not Commodore) but I am wondering if that vehicle was made in Australia and exported here or manufactured locally. However, since that was the first and only new Australian vehicle I have ever seen in Thailand (I have seen a few old 90's Commodores though) it's either a one off, imported under TAFTA and re-badged, or manufactured locally just that I've never heard of Aussie models being manufactured here. Does anyone know?

Captiva or Cruze? They're manufactured locally and then rebadged before being sent to Australia... Or was it the actual 'commodore' model?

But if you go into the Embassy you'll see a couple of home grown Holden's floating around..

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Definitely not Captiva as that's an SUV and neither the Cruze, which is quite popular and fairly common in Thailand. It was the unmistakable Commodore. As mentioned though, I can't point my finger on the locally rebadged model name as I've never seen it here previously. The only previous Commodores I've seen in Thailand were actual Holden Commodores, mostly early 90s models.

I've seen the actual Holden's at the Aus Embassy.

[Tomtomtom69]

The import tariffs on wine will be zero as of 1 January 2015, currently at 4%.

300% sounds more expensive than it is, in actuality.

Given that Jacob's Creek is owned by a multinational conglomerate there would be many ways they can reduce the cost, especially in the states (shipped in huge bladders and bottled in the USA) plus very low tax on booze in the states especially when compared to Australia (WET and GST)

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Thanks. You saved me some googling. I do remember reading that the tariffs on Aussie wine imported into Thailand were around 40%, but maybe that was before EIF of TAFTA.

[GrantSmith]

EIF was 20%, down from around 54% (this is the current ceiling rate which customs applies to non-FTA countries) I think.. But it could have been 40% which might have been a result of the ASEAN-ANZ treaty?

As for the Chevy/Commodore, apart from the embassy cars I haven't seen anything other than the cruze or Captiva...

[Bcgardener]

EIF was 20%, down from around 54% (this is the current ceiling rate which customs applies to non-FTA countries) I think.. But it could have been 40% which might have been a result of the ASEAN-ANZ treaty?

As for the Chevy/Commodore, apart from the embassy cars I haven't seen anything other than the cruze or Captiva...

Probably a grey import from the Middle East. Commodores there have Chevy badges especially statesmans.

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