Bicycle exports nearly $514M
Bicycle exports nearly $514M
Cambodia exported nearly $514 million worth of bicycles in the first 10 months of 2021, a 21 per cent year-on-year surge, the Ministry of Commerce reported.
The biggest buyers of Cambodian bicycles were the US, UK, Europe, Canada, ASEAN, Japan, China and South Korea, it said.
Although the Kingdom is ASEAN’s largest exporter of bicycles, it also imports units of many well-known brands, it added.
Ministry spokesman Pen Sovicheat indicated that Covid-19 had little negative side effects on bicycle exports, and that the rise in orders for Cambodian-assembled units comes on the back of the growing popularity of cycling in a more health-conscious era.
He told The Post that Cambodia has become a more established bike maker and supplier on the European market, and is known to deliver internationally competitive quality products at more affordable rates, with prominent brands such as Giant even more highly regarded.
“Although the bicycles are all assembled by well-known brands, they’ll always bear a label that says ‘Made in Cambodia’, a source of pride for a country with the conviction to churn out high-quality goods, such as these,” Sovicheat said.
Cambodia Chamber of Commerce vice-president Lim Heng said that most bicycle manufacturing plants in the Kingdom are invested by Taiwanese enterprises, and located in special economic zones (SEZ) in Bavet town of the southeastern province of Svay Rieng.
According to the ministry, Cambodia has six bicycle factories – all based in Svay Rieng’s SEZs.
Heng argued that the increase in exports was in part due to green city policies introduced in the EU and US to encourage cycling to reduce air pollution. “These policies have also led to a steady increase in bicycle production in Cambodia,” he said.
“And as the Kingdom enters into more trade agreements with other countries – and enjoys other preferential tariffs – investors from other countries could become more interested in opening additional bicycle factories here.”
