Thai traders in border dispute

Chanthaburi _ Cross-border traders in Chanthaburi sought help from provincial authorities yesterday after local Cambodian officials reportedly banned Thai trucks from going any further than 500 metres across the border to pick up produce for sale. The ban has caused perishable goods to be left stranded at the border, local Thai traders said.

About 40 crop traders from Soi Dao district yesterday petitioned Chanthaburi Governor Panus Kaewlai for help after Cambodian authorities in Battambang province reportedly imposed restrictions on Thai trucks crossing into Cambodia.

Trucks were not allowed to travel more than 500 metres over the border, they said. The traders complained they could not pick up produce that they had already paid for, which will rot if it is not collected in the next few days.

Sombat Juengtrakul, chairman of the cross-border traders group in Soi Dao district, said no trucks from the Thai border had entered Cambodia since the ban was imposed.

Cambodian authorities reportedly claimed right-hand drive vehicles were not allowed in Cambodia and that therefore, Thai trucks were refused entry.

Mr Sombat said some Thai farmers who planted crops on rented plots in Cambodia also suffered losses as they could not transport their crops back across the Thai border.

It is the fifth time that such a ban has been imposed this year, he said.

Lertla Nakhaket, chief of Chanthaburi commerce association, said local authorities would hold urgent talks with Battambang officials to find a solution.