Thailand aligns with Cairns Group on multilateral trade advocacy

Thailand continues to prioritize international cooperation within the multilateral trade framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO), aligning closely with the Cairns Group’s position.

Thai Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan reaffirmed this stance after returning from the 44th Cairns Group Ministerial Meeting in Paris, where he joined counterparts from major agricultural exporting nations in endorsing a conclusive communiqué.

According to Minister Pichai, the Cairns Group also agreed to jointly push for progress in multilateral trade negotiations and to achieve concrete outcomes in three key areas, to be presented at the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference scheduled for March 2026 in Cameroon.

These priorities include identifying avenues to expand market access and enhance competitiveness for agricultural exporters in a fair and transparent manner, while reducing trade-distorting subsidies in the agricultural sectors of individual countries.

In addition, the Cairns Group resolved to work collectively and proactively with other trade blocs to address emerging global challenges, such as food crises, nutritional security, and climate change, for the mutual benefit of nations and the global public.

According to the minister, intra-group trade among Cairns Group members reached approximately 800 billion US dollars between 2020 and 2024, accounting for 10.6% of the global agricultural trade value of 7.12 trillion US dollars.

Two-way trade between Thailand and other Cairns Group member states exceeded 8.12 billion US dollars, representing 19.57% of the total value of Thai agricultural exports during the same period.

The Cairns Group comprises 20 member countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, Uruguay, and Vietnam.