UPDATE 1-Thailand to sign Peru FTA, to double bilateral trade

* Thailand to sign FTA with Peru in Singapore on Friday

* FTA to double bilateral trade from 2010

* Duties on 70 pct of 5,000 items to be cut to zero
(Adds quotes, details)

SINGAPORE, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Thailand and Peru will sign a
free trade agreement on Friday on the sidelines of a regional
trade summit in Singapore, and expect the pact to double their
bilateral trade from 2010, a senior Thai official said.

"We believe this FTA will boost our bilateral trade by 100
percent from 2010, after 60 percent growth in 2008 from 2007,"
Deputy Thai Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot told Reuters.

Trade between the countries was valued at $350 million in
2008.

Alongkorn said the pact would mean zero tariffs on 70
percent of 5,000 items traded between the two countries.

"We aim to use Peru as our gateway to South America as it
is a member of key regional trading blocs and it already has
FTAs with the United States, Canada and Mexico," Alongkorn said
in a phone interview, before boarding a plane to the Singapore
meeting.

Thailand imports minerals such as tin and fish products
from Peru, which in turn imports auto parts, electrical
appliances and clothes from the Southeast Asian country, he
said.

In July, Peru and Singapore signed a free trade agreement,
which took effect on Aug. 1, the first pact between the
resource-rich Latin American nation and Asia.

Peruvian trade counterpart Martin Perez told Reuters in
July that Peru would move ahead with bilateral discussions, as
talks on a global trade pact have stalled.

Peru is also seeking deals with China, South Korea,
Australia and New Zealand.
(Reporting by Nopporn Wong-Anan; Editing by Neil Chatterjee)