Cambodia’s international trade up 16% in first two months

Cambodia’s international trade up 16% in first two months

Cambodia’s international trade volume increased by 16.3 percent to $9.44 billion in the first two months of this year, from $8.12 billion recorded in the same period last year, a report from the General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia showed yesterday.

From January to February, the Kingdom exported $4.46 billion worth of goods to foreign countries, a year-on-year increase of 12 percent, while imports of $4.98 billion, up 20.6 percent, read the report.

The US and Vietnam are the two big markets for Cambodia’s exports with export amounts of $1,626 million and $648 million, respectively, read the report.

China, on the other hand, is Cambodia’s biggest importer during the period with a total import amount of $2,444 million, up 24 percent from that last year, added the report.

Lim Heng, Vice-President of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, said that the global economic situation appears to be improving, leading to an increase in orders for Cambodian goods, while the escalating trade war between major powers is also having a positive impact on Cambodia.

“We see that for this year, Cambodia’s trade has been in good condition since the beginning of the year due to favorable factors in the production chain and increasing global demand,” Heng told Khmer Times.

Factors that lead to increased investment and exports are political stability, new investment laws that are very encouraging, and market factors that Cambodia has free trade markets, such as Cambodia-China, Cambodia-Korea, as well as RCEP, he added.

Meanwhile, the US-China trade war is raising tariffs on each other, which is also an opportunity for Cambodia to attract investors to produce for export, Heng stressed.

The Kingdom’s main export products are garments, machinery, electrical equipment, footwear products, leather goods, grain, furniture, rubber, fruits, vegetables, pearls, toys and textiles, according to the ministry.

Cambodia’s major imports include medicines and supplements, consumables and food and beverages.

The effective implementation of the Cambodian government’s Pentagonal Strategy – Phase 1 helped propel the Cambodian economy to continue growing at a rate of 6 percent in 2024, supported mainly by high growth in exports, especially garment products, and the continued steady recovery of the tourism sector, although the construction and real estate sectors and agriculture continued to experience low growth.

Looking ahead in 2025, the National Bank of Cambodia projected that the country’s economic growth at 6.2 percent due to strong growth in exports of garment products and non-garment manufacturing products coupled with positive progress of the tourism sector and agricultural sector.

khmertimeskh