BKK Post / 5 September 1998  

THAILAND-LAOS / CALL FOR SIMPLER REGULATIONS  
Drive to smooth border trade  
Goods transport monopoly costly  

Achara Ashayagachat, Bhanravee Tansubhapol  
Mukdahan  
   Thai traders yesterday urged Thai and Laotian authorities to harmonise transport regulations, and streamline customs and immigration procedures to improve trade along their common border.
   Sompong Jeeyasak, president of the Mukdahan chamber of commerce, also suggested that the Export-Import Bank set up branches in Thai border provinces in order to help traders facing liquidity problems.
   The proposals were made at a seminar organised by the Interior Ministry, which brought together governors and chamber representatives from Loei, Nong Khai, Nakhon Phanom, Mukdahan, Amnat Charoen and Ubon Ratchathani.
   The traders emphasised the need to standardise weight limits on roads, and to secure an agreement from Hanoi allowing trucks carrying goods from Thailand and Laos to pass through central Vietnam.
   Aranya Suchanilm, chairwoman of the Nong Khai chamber, said differences in weight limits were troublesome in terms of time and money. Laos has a limit of 23 tons per truck while Thailand allows 25-26. This means that goods from Thailand have to be unloaded and reloaded at the border, she said.
   Other chamber representatives called for Laos to allow longer stays by holders of booklet-sized border passes.
   Ms Aranya's deputy, Veerachai Mongkolpumirat, proposed liberalising the transport of transport of goods in transit between the two countries, a service long monopolised by five operators.
   This would reduce transport costs by as much as 20%, making Thai products cheaper in Laotian and Vietnamese markets, he said.
   The five operators are: the Express Transport Organisation, TL Enterprises, Ubonsahatham, R.C.L, and the State Railway of Thailand.
   Mr Sompong of the Mukdahan chamber proposed a one-stop customs and immigration service for Thai traders and truck drivers.
   Another businessman urged standardising working hours for border officials of the two countries, saying the current practise delayed the work of Thai shippers. Thai hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., while Laotian officials work from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
   Rangsan Paholyothin, the Thai ambassador to Laos, agreed on the need for public and private-sector representatives to work on problem-solving at the regional and national levels.
   He hailed as a positive development the establishment last year of a committee, bringing together officials of seven provinces in Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, to promote trade and tourism along Route 8.
   The officials represent Nong Khai, Nakhon Phanom and Sakhon Nakhon in Thailand, Borikhamsay and Khammouane in Laos, and Vine (Nghe An) and Ha Tinh in central Vietnam.
   In Ubon Ratchathani, a provincial task force communicated directly with authorities in the southern Laotian province of Champassak when the latter banned eight Thai products in response to Thailand's ban on the import of Cambodian logs through Laos.