In Thai Agricultural Trade Structure Analysis

At the present time, China is the biggest agricultural product exporter in Asia,and Thailand is the 2nd. China dominates 3.41% of the total agricultural export in theworld, and Thailand occupies 2.35% of the total sum.From 2001 to 2004, the total amount of agricultural products that China exportshave increased 14.89%. Thailand was with a rate of 13.63%. Both of these two figuresexceeded the world average which was 11.79%. This means China and Thailand havetaken the competitive advantage in the industry of Agricultural product exporting.Meanwhile, the amount of agricultural product that China exports to Thailandincreases at a rate of 48.6%, which is much higher than China to the whole world(14.89%). According to Thailand Commerce Department data (2002), goods thatThailand exports to the Chinese market occupy 9.66% of its total amount. Until 2005this data rises 14.96%, which exceeded the amount that Thailand exports to theUnited States.This report starts from the comparison of China and Thailand agriculturalproducts export status, and China – Thailand agricultural product trading situation. Byusing the Export Similarity Index analysis, we are to find out the existent competitionrelation among them. Final recommendations are given in order to develop furthertrade policies.Chapter 1 introduces the research background and reviews the thesis. Chapter 2indicates that China concentrates in the labour intensive agricultural products, butThailand's advantages are in the labour intensive products, land intensive productsand resources intensive products.By using the Export Similarity Index, Chapter 3 analysed China and Thailandagricultural product export construction. China and Thailand have formed acompetition relation regarding agricultural product export structure, but this sort ofcompetition relation only focuses on the labour intensive products.Chapter 4, by using the Revealed Comparative Advantage Index, analysed twonation's agricultural products. China's index number is higher than Thailand's in thearea of the labour intensive products. But in the area of resources intensive productsand land intensive products Thailand is higher than China.Chapter 5 reveals that Thailand agricultural product export structure has a quitehigh matching ratio of 1.05 to China agricultural product import structure, whereasChina has 0.52 to Thailand.Chapter 6 brings up the related policy recommendations within the frame ofChina – Thailand free trade zone, and comes up with conclusion.