Cambodia has experienced a stable growth of exports to foreign markets despite a slowdown in global demand and a war crisis, a senior official of the Ministry of Commerce said.
Cambodia’s exports were worth $1,967 million in January of 2024, a 27 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023, a General Department of Customs and Excise report showed.
Cambodia-international trade volume has grown steadily despite the war crisis, Penn Sovicheat, MoC’s Secretary of State said during a press meeting on March 4.
“Despite the war crisis and weakening of the purchasing power, Cambodian orders remained high, with the volume of orders remaining unchanged, although there was a decline in some items, but an increase on other items,” Sovicheat said.
The markets in Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) members are huge for Cambodia’s products, he said.
“Cambodian’s trade with RCEP countries showed a good momentum of increase in export, bringing a huge benefit to Cambodia’s economy,” he said.
Entering into force in January 2022, the RCEP agreement comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries including 10 ASEAN member states, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and their five trading partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
Cambodia’s trade with the RCEP member countries amounted to $2.74 billion in January, a year-on-year increase of 21.2 percent, read the ministry’s report.
The report said Cambodia’s total trade volume with other RCEP members accounted for 67.6 percent of the country’s total trade of US$4.05 billion in January this year.
Under the mega-regional pact, as much as 90 percent of the tariffs on goods traded among its signatories will be eliminated over the next 20 years.
In 2023, the two-way trade between Cambodia and RCEP countries decreased by 5.07 percent to $29.45 billion.
Sovicheat also shared concerns over the Red Sea crisis affecting trade, costing goods shipment and the price of gasoline hike.
The attack on shipment cargo ships by the Houthi group in the Red Sea will indirectly affect fuel prices in Cambodia, pushing fuel prices up, he said. khmertimeskh
