Cambodia’s bicycle exports decline 38%
Cambodia’s bicycle exports decline 38%
Cambodia’s bicycle exports plummeted 38 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2024 with the export value going down to $205 million, according to a report released by the Ministry of Commerce.
The sharp decline marks a stark contrast to the previous year’s robust growth. While Cambodia positioned itself as a rising star in the global bicycle market, the recent downturn highlights the challenges faced by the industry.
The global economic slowdown has dampened consumer spending on non-essential items such as bicycles leading to a decline in the country’s bicycle exports, said Penn Sovicheat, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Commerce.
“Because of the economic slowdown, people are focusing more on necessary items and less on bicycles,” Sovicheat told Khmer Times.
The European Union, a major market for Cambodian bicycles, has been particularly affected by economic pressures, leading to reduced demand for imports.
In 2023, EU imports of both electric and non-electric bicycles stood at €1.98 billion, a 21 percent decline compared to 2022, according to a report from Eurostat on June 3, 2024.
The 2023 data shows that the EU exported 293,000 electric bicycles (21 percent less compared to 2022) and imported 867,000 electric bicycles (27 percent less).
Cambodia is the second biggest supplier of bicycles to the EU. Its imports of non-electric bicycles came mainly from Taiwan (32 percent of all imports) and Cambodia (28 percent), followed by China and Bangladesh in 2023.
Cambodia is one of the top five exporters of bicycles in the world. Bicycles have become one of Cambodia’s key manufacturing products for exports after clothes, footwear and travel goods.
The bicycles are assembled only in the special economic zones in Bavet, Svay Rieng province, which shares a border with Vietnam.
Currently, five companies assemble bicycles for export. They are Evergrand Bicycle (Cambodia), Speedtech Industrial Co Ltd, Smart Tech (Cambodia) Co Ltd, A and J (Cambodia) Co Ltd and XDS Bicycle (Cambodia) Co Ltd.
Cambodia exports bicycles to foreign markets such as the EU and the US under free trade agreements and other trade deals, besides under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) and Most-Favoured Nation (MFN) schemes.
