Myanmar to import pick-up trucks from Thailand

BANGKOK, February 16 (TNA) - Myanmar has announced that the neighbouring country wants to import up to 60,000-80,000 pick-up trucks from Thailand annually to serve its growing domestic demand. Meo Kyaw, Deputy Secretary-General of the Myanmar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, informed Thai authorities of the promising demand while leading a 40-member Myanmar delegation, comprising commerce and railway authorities, as well as representatives of private automobile-related businesses to meet the management of the Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI) in Bangkok on Thursday. Meo Kyaw insisted that Myanmar plans to import the one-ton pick-up trucks from Thailand, noting that there are now about 380,000 vehicles in Myanmar, 90 per cent of them are used cars imported from Japan and have been used for more than five years, and that the ratio of vehicles to people in Myanmar is one vehicle to 150 people or one vehicle to 28 families currently. According to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry deputy chief, Myanmar has imposed a 165 per cent import tariff on imported vehicles and vehicle sales can be done through about 40 locally-registered dealers. Thailand is the second largest exporting country for Myanmar, after China, and the neighbouring country wants to import more food and other consumer products from Thailand. Meanwhile, BOI Deputy Secretary-General Chokdee Kaewsang said that Thailand could export automobile parts, worth up to 1.8 billion baht, to Myanmar in the initial stage but automobile makers in Thailand have not been legally allowed to export any vehicle to Myanmar. (TNA)