‘The EU is committed to its partnership with Cambodia to promote the green and digital transitions and to accompany the Kingdom in its upcoming graduation from Least Developed Country status’
Cambodia’s export to the European Union (EU) continues to surge with export value to the bloc recording $2.9 billion in the first eight months of 2024.
According to a report from the Ministry of Commerce, Cambodia’s exports to the EU during this period increased by 16.27 percent compared to the same period last year.
The two-way trade (exports and imports together) rose by 9.62 percent to $3.5 billion, read the report.
Spain and Germany were Cambodia’s biggest trade partners in the EU with bilateral trade volumes of $706 million and $692 million respectively, the report stated.
Cambodia’s other destinations in the EU are France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Cambodia mainly exports textiles, footwear, bicycles, foodstuffs, milled rice and other agricultural products to the EU under the EBA (Everything but Arms) scheme.
The EBA initiative, which grants duty-free access for Cambodian products to the EU market, has played a crucial role in this, said Lim Heng, Vice President of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce.
“Under the trade preference scheme, Cambodian products have access to the EU market and increasing volume of exports reflects the demand of the products which meet quality standards,” he said.
Food safety, environmental protection and quality of products are important requirements in exporting products from Cambodia to the EU, said Song Saran, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Cambodia Rice Federation.
“We have to look at the environmental health and safety and environment impact assessment. Doing so, we need a lot to add on these certificates (standards) to ensure Cambodia’s competitiveness,” he said.
The EU is also the largest buyer of Cambodia’s milled rice. CRF figures showed that the bloc imported 208,207 tonnes of milled rice from Cambodia worth $161 million in the first eight months of this year.
The rice exports to the EU constituted 50 percent of Cambodia’s total rice exports of 412,023 tonnes.
Last week, the first-ever Cambodia-Europe Public-Private Sector Dialogue was held at the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) to create a robust mechanism for protecting European investments in Cambodia and promoting sustainable development.
Ambassador of the European Union to the Kingdom of Cambodia Igor Driesmans emphasized the EU’s unwavering support for Cambodia’s development journey. He highlighted the Global Gateway strategy as a valuable tool for attracting EU investments and fostering sustainable growth.
“The European Union is committed to its partnership with Cambodia, as Team Europe, to promote the green and digital transitions and to accompany Cambodia through the upcoming graduation from Least Developed Country status. The Global Gateway investment strategy will be the EU tool available to Cambodia at this juncture,” Driesmans added.
(Source: khmertimeskh)