The Influence Of The Kunming-Bangkok Road Construction Project To The Transportation Of Agricultural Products Between Thailand And China

Since the establishment and development of Great Mekong SubregionCooperation (GMS), especially, after Thailand and China has entered into theagreement of zero-tariff vegetable and fruit trading, the trading relationshipbetween China and Thailand has grown rapidly. However, transportation is stillan unresolved issue, and is still the main impediment that hinders the tradebetween Thailand and China. Recognizing the importance of the transportationissue in the inter-trade between Thailand and China, this paper presents andanalyzes the Kunming-Bangkok road construction project.It begins by presenting the general condition of the transportation ofagricultural products between Thailand and Yunnan. The problem of thetransportation between Thailand and Yunnan is also analyzed. Then, the thesiscompares time and cost of the shipping through the sea and through theMekong River. The result of this comparison is an important input to thefeasibility analysis of road construction project between Bangkok andKunming, which will accommodate the transportation of agricultural productsbetween Thailand and Yunnan. SWOT analysis is also used in the paper toprove that the road construction proposal is important to the trade and thetransportation of the agricultural products.The paper leads to the conclusion that the proposal of GMS to constructthe road between Kunming and Bangkok will not only facilitate thetransportation of agricultural products, but also encourage and increase thetrade between Thailand and China. The road construction project will extendthe opportunity of agricultural trade between Thailand and Yunnan. Moreover,it also supports and strengthens the FTA agreement between China and ASEAN.Finally, it is hoped that this paper will be useful in the process of assessing thetransportation mode in the trade between Thailand and China.