Thai Products Permitted, Except for Oil and Produce
PHNOM PENH—The General Department of Excise and Customs has clarified rules on imports from Thailand, saying only some goods are prohibited while others are free to bring in.
The customs department said the banned products are fruit, vegetables, gasoline, diesel, LPG and LNG, fuel oil, and Jet-A1. Traders can still import other products by completing the forms and following procedures.
However, the department advises against crossing the Cambodia-Thailand land border for import routes, following Thailand’s unilateral closure.
“We will continue to monitor and inform traders, businesspeople, and the public about the situation and developments related to this measure,” the department said.
The country has banned the import of oil and gas since June 23, with Prime Minister Hun Manet reassuring that fuel distribution companies can meet local demands. The ban will not be permanent. Fruit and vegetable imports have been prohibited since June 17.
The country has also stopped using electricity and internet from Thailand and bans Thai films and movies from being shown in the country.
In 2024, trade between Thailand and Cambodia reached $4.28 billion, a 15.5 percent increase from 2023, making Thailand Cambodia’s second-largest ASEAN partner and fourth-largest global trading partner.
More than $1.87 billion in two-way trade was reached in five months of 2025, an 8.3 percent increase from 2024, with Cambodian exports worth $395 million and Thai exports at $1.4 billion.
Business leader Arnaud Darc said this border conflict is beyond trade or tourism but will yield a real consequence in the region.
Peace is not the same as stability, as a single border incident in May has led to a freeze, closed checkpoints, slowed trade, and increased nationalism, he said.
“While politics drives the headlines, economics shapes the pain,” he said. “Roughly $4 billion in annual trade is now rerouting through Vietnam and Singapore. Costs are rising.”
The killing of a Cambodian soldier in the Mom Bei area by Thai soldiers has strained the Cambodian-Thai border dispute, causing a deep freeze in relations.
Cambodia demands that Thailand reopen the border crossing and adjust the operation hours to what they were before June 7, when Thailand unilaterally closed them without notice. If Thailand reopens the land border, Cambodia will follow within five hours.
While Thailand demands the dispute be solved through a bilateral mechanism and the Joint Boundary Committee, Cambodia maintains its stand of taking the dispute to the International Court of Justice over four areas.