Exports to RCEP surpass $6.6B in Jan-Aug period

Exports to RCEP surpass $6.6B in Jan-Aug period

Cambodia’s main export products are garments, machinery, electrical equipment, footwear products, leather goods, grain, furniture, rubber, fruits, vegetables, pearls, toys and textiles.

Cambodia exported $6,628 million worth of goods to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) countries between January and August of this year, up nearly 10 percent from $6,050 million in the same period last year, a report from the Ministry of Commerce showed on Monday.

The country’s export to RCEP accounted for 31.8 percent of Cambodia’s total export of $20,830 million during the period, read the report.

From January to August of this year, the country imported $19,728 million worth of goods from RCEP nations, an increase of 16.95 percent from $16,869 million in the same period last year.

These figures made Cambodia’s two-way trade with other RCEP nations reach $26,375 million, a year-on-year increase of 15 percent, accounting for 61.5 percent of the country’s total international trade of $42,800 million in the mentioned period.

Cambodian Ministry of Commerce’s Secretary of State and spokesperson, Penn Sovicheat, lauded the positive figures, citing that this highlighted the key role of the RCEP agreement in driving the country’s trade and economic development.

“The RCEP agreement has provided Cambodian products with wider market access, which is crucial for the nation’s economic progress,” Sovicheat told Khmer Times.

“With the preferential tariffs provided under the RCEP, Cambodia’s exports to other RCEP members will definitely continue to rise,” he added.

The RCEP free trade agreement entered into force on January 1, 2022. The regional trade pact comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries, including the ten Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – and their five trading partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.

Cambodia’s main export products are garments, machinery, electrical equipment, footwear products, leather goods, grain, furniture, rubber, fruits, vegetables, pearls, toys and textiles.

Cambodia’s major imports include raw material for garment manufacturing, medicines and supplements, consumables and food and beverages.

Cambodia is currently a signatory to the ASEAN Free Trade Area, the ASEAN+1 Free Trade Agreements with dialogue partners, the RCEP, bilateral free trade agreements with China, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.

As Cambodia prepares for its graduation from Least Developed Country (LDC) status, a move that will eventually lead to the loss of some preferential trade benefits, the Cambodian government, through the Ministry of Commerce and relevant ministries and institutions are currently working to create more free trade agreements with main trade partners to expand market access to local products for export, he said.

khmertimeskh