Kingdom’s bikes on a roll in Europe, amid drop in exports to EU
Kingdom’s bikes on a roll in Europe, amid drop in exports to EU
Cambodia was the number one bicycle exporter to the European market in the first half of this year, despite a slight bump in the road for the exports, a bike-eu.com report said.bike-eu.com, a cycling industry specialist website, said the Kingdom’s bike exports to the European market backpedalled four per cent to 835,000 units, the first decline in many years.
Taiwan came in second, exporting 546,000 bicycles, while China seized third place with 435,000, up nearly 16 per cent, the report said.
“Once again there is a threat that Cambodia could lose its duty-free export status for bicycle exports to EU member states . . . [which allows] companies operating in Cambodia to be exempted from import duties of 14 per cent compared to those without such a Generalised System of Preferences,” it said.
On February 12, the EU officially launched the procedure that could lead to a partial or full withdrawal of the Everything But Arms agreement due to what it claimed were “concerns over Cambodia’s record against core human rights and labour rights conventions”.
Previous reports
Last year, Cambodia exported a total of 1.52 million bicycles to the European market worth $331 million, a World Bank report said.
bike-eu.com previously reported that Cambodia exported more than 1.42 million bicycles in 2017, up nine per cent from 1.29 million in 2016.
Ministry of Commerce data said Cambodia’s exports to the European market dropped by 3.14 per cent to more than $2.190 billion in the first six months of this year, compared to $2.261 billion previously.
The Kingdom’s main exports to Europe during the period include clothing, footwear, bags, bicycles and rice, the figures show.
