They said any benefits would not last, because Australia was negotiating tariff privileges with other countries, as well. The agreement with Thailand was implemented in January 2005.

Speaking yesterday at the seminar "Increased Market Access Opportunities in Australia after the FTA", traders also warned exporters to be aware of rising non-trade barriers in the market.

Piyanuch Malakul na Ayuthya, vice chairman of the committee on trade rules and international trade at the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said exporters should always be upgrading their production capacity and product quality, in order to serve market demand.

Although the FTA between Thailand and Australia helps bring down tariffs for export and import goods, exporters will only enjoy short-term tariff benefits. Australia will also give tariff privileges to other trading partners, she said.

Australia has recently completed a bilateral pact with Singapore and is considering negotiating others with China, the Philippines and Middle East countries.

Jhitraporn Techacharn, director-general of the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion, said that since implementation of the agreement with Australia, exports from Thailand to that country had increased gradually. However, exports would perform better if private exporters understood market trends better. The Commerce Ministry reported exports to Australia rose 28.63 per cent to US$2.63 billion (Bt94.23 billion) last year, while imports rose 33.62 per cent to $2.81 billion.

In the first 10 months, exports to Australia jumped 33.62 per cent to $3.51 billion, while imports grew slightly, by 1 per cent to $2.83 billion.

She advised exporters to study market demand and other non-tariff barriers more carefully, in order to boost their sales.

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation