Cambodia-EU trade reaches $3 billion in H1 2026

Cambodia-EU trade reaches $3 billion in H1 2026

Resilient exports of garments, bicycles, footwear, and travel goods primarily drive this growth.

Bilateral trade between Cambodia and the European Union reached $3 billion in the first half of 2026, marking an 8.08 percent year-on-year increase. Official data reveals that this growth was primarily driven by resilient Cambodian exports in key sectors, including garments, footwear, and travel goods.

A Ministry of Commerce (MoC) report released on Sunday shows that Cambodia exported $2.59 billion worth of goods to the EU between January and June of this year. This represents an 8 percent increase compared to the $2.4 billion recorded during the same period last year.

Imports from the 27 member bloc increased 8.57 percent to $407 million, stated the report.

Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and France remained Cambodia’s largest EU export destinations, with garments, footwear and travel products.

The EU accounted for 7.8 percent of Cambodia’s $38.2 billion global trade volume in the first half of the year, underscoring its role as a vital, high value market.

The steady trade growth coincides with Cambodia’s strategic preparations for its upcoming graduation from Least Developed Country (LDC) status.

As LDC graduation will eventually lead to the phase-out of duty-free and quota-free market access under the EU’s Everything But Arms (EBA) initiative, Cambodia is proactively positioning itself for bilateral free trade negotiations.

The government is preparing formal talks with the EU on two options: a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) or the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), Secretary of State Sim Sokkheng of the Ministry of Commerce said.

“The Cambodian Government has tasked the Ministry of Commerce to conduct a thorough study and evaluation of two key trade options for the future of exports to the European Union (EU) market after Cambodia exits the EBA preferential trade scheme,” Sokkheng said in a press conference held last week.

This is a point that the country needs to discuss to study both legally and to push for future work, he said.

“Any option that benefits the nation the most, we will pursue,” he added.

The bilateral Cambodia–EU trade reached $5.87 billion in 2025, up 10.2 percent from the previous year. Exports rose 13.55 percent to $5 billion, while imports fell 5.88 percent to $863 million.

khmertimeskh