Synopsis: Cambodia is actively negotiating free trade agreements with several countries and preparing to access new markets, ensuring that Cambodia is not overly dependent on any single partner.
Prime Minister Hun Manet is scheduled to chair a crucial meeting next week to review Cambodia’s procedures and proposals aimed at expanding the export of agricultural products to China.
Disclosing this at a press conference on Tuesday, Sun Chanthol, Deputy Prime Minister and First Vice Chairman of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), said Prime Minister Hun Manet will lead a key meeting on July 16 to review procedures for promoting the export of more agricultural products to China.
“On July 16, Prime Minister Hun Manet will lead a meeting to review Cambodia’s procedures and requests to increase agricultural exports to China. We are working hard to diversify our economy and reduce reliance on the garment sector,” he stated.
He said the initiative is part of broader efforts led by the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) to expand access to the Chinese market.
Chanthol also said that Minister of Commerce Cham Nimul is actively negotiating free trade agreements with several countries and preparing to access new markets, ensuring that Cambodia is not overly dependent on any single partner.
“We’re taking this opportunity to diversify our economy and open up more markets, especially large ones like China. These are the efforts the Ministry of Commerce is focusing on, and we have all the mechanisms in place to reduce dependency on garment exports,” he said.
Chanthol emphasised that the Royal Government is pursuing comprehensive plans to protect Cambodia’s national interests, attract investment, create jobs, and promote tourism.
“Our government is not standing still. It has a clear and proactive policy to attract investors, create employment opportunities, and draw millions of tourists to Cambodia. All of these are part of the Royal Government’s strategic vision,” he affirmed.
Wang Wenbin, Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia, writing on his social media on Tuesday stated that recently the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) updated the list of registered orchards and packaging factories for Cambodian fruit exports to China.
He added that the list has been newly added with the list of registered orchards and packaging factories for Cambodian fresh durian exported to China, indicating that Cambodian fresh durian has completed all export procedures to China and can be exported to China.
“This is the first high-quality Cambodian agricultural product approved for export to China in 2025, and it is another new achievement of China-Cambodia pragmatic cooperation. So far, Cambodia has five kinds of fruits available for export to China including bananas, mangoes, longans, coconuts and durian,” Ambassador Wang stated.
According to an official report of the MoC, from January to May the country earned $535 million from paddy rice exports and $253 million from milled rice exports, a year-on-year increase of 18 percent and 31 percent, respectively.
The Kingdom also earned $739 million from cashew nut export, a year-on-year increase of 58 percent, banana exports saw an increase by 21 percent to $76 million, read the report.
Exports of cassava, however, amounted to $417 million, $169 million from rubber export, and $95 million from fresh mango exports, down 13 percent, 16 percent, and 1 percent, respectively.
Cambodia’s agriculture sector has experienced a remarkable increase in the early period of this year, with key export commodities showcasing significant growth.
The main products Cambodia exported included rice, bananas, mangoes, cassava, cashew nuts, corn, pepper and tobacco.
