Cambodia-EU trade surges to $5.3B in 11 months

Cambodia-EU trade surges to $5.3B in 11 months

The EU currently stands as one of Cambodia’s largest trading partners, accounting for 16 percent of the Kingdom’s total international export volume.

Bilateral trade between Cambodia and the European Union totalled at $5,376 million in the first 11 months of this year, up 10 percent from $4,884 million in the same period last year, a report from the Ministry of Commerce showed.

From January to November, the Kingdom exported $4,581 million worth of goods to the countries in the EU bloc, up 13.68 percent from $4,030 million in the same period last year, stated the report, issued last week.

The country’s main markets in the EU bloc are Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Belgium.

Meanwhile, imports from the EU dropped by 7 percent to $794 million.

Cambodia’s trade with the EU has continued to benefit from the Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme, which provides duty-free and quota-free access for most Cambodian products, said Penn Sovicheat, Secretary of State and Spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce.

Speaking to Khmer Times, Sovicheat said, “The export growth reflects the increasing confidence European consumers have in the quality of Cambodian products.”

For Cambodia’s garment, footwear, and travel goods and other manufactured products, the EU is the primary export market among others, such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan.

The EU currently stands as one of Cambodia’s largest trading partners, accounting for approximately 16 percent of the Kingdom’s total international export volume, after the US and RCEP markets, read the report.

The Ministry of Commerce has intensified its efforts to align local products with the quality and standards required by EU market, aimed at boosting exports.

The ministry is collaborating with the EU-German Global Access and Trade Expertise Team, focusing on setting, adopting, and implementing EU-quality standards across various products.

According to the report, Cambodia exported $933 million worth of goods to the United Kingdom, up 5 percent from the last year.

khmertimeskh