Kingdom’s 9-month trade turnover up 22% to $58B

Kingdom’s 9-month trade turnover up 22% to $58B

The robust trade performance reflects expanding import-export activities, catalysed by widening global market access and key regional and bilateral trade pacts.

Cambodia’s import-export turnover reached $58.49 billion in the first nine months of 2026, up 22.1% compared to the same period last year, a report by the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) showed yesterday.

From January to September, Cambodia exported goods worth $27.47 billion to international markets, representing an 18% year-on-year increase, while imports rose 26% to $31 billion.

The figures show that the Kingdom recorded a trade deficit of approximately $3.54 billion during the January-September period.

The strong growth in trade reflects continued expansion in Cambodia’s export and import activities, supported by growing market access and the Kingdom’s participation in regional and bilateral trade agreements.

MoC Secretary of State and spokesman Penn Sovicheat highlighted that the government is expanding export market diversification and enhancing trade facilitation to position Cambodian products in international markets.

“Strong export performance demonstrates global market trust in Cambodian goods and the success of its trade partnerships,” he said.

Cambodia’s participation in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and bilateral free trade agreements, including the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement and Cambodia-Korea Free Trade Agreement, has helped provide preferential market access for Cambodian products.

Cambodia’s major export products include garments, footwear and travel goods, machinery and electrical equipment, agricultural products, bicycles, tyres, furniture and other manufactured goods.

Major imports include raw materials for manufacturing, petroleum products, vehicles, electronics and other consumer and production goods.

According to the report, the Kingdom’s major trading partners were China, the US and Vietnam, with bilateral trade reaching $17.58 billion, $12.46 billion and $6.58 billion, respectively, representing year-on-year growth of 23%, 13% and 8.5%.

Cambodia’s export sector has traditionally been dominated by garments, footwear and travel goods, which together account for a major share of foreign exchange earnings and employment.

However, recent years have seen gradual diversification into higher-value sectors including electronic components, bicycles, tyres and processed agricultural products.

khmertimeskh