Cambodian trade rose 18% in first 9 months

Cambodia's foreign trade volume reached $41 billion in the first nine months of 2022, up 18 percent from $34.76 billion in the same period last year, official government data showed on Monday.

The Southeast Asian kingdom's exports were valued at $17.25 billion from January to September, a 22.1-percent increase from a year earlier, while imports grew 15.2 percent year on year to $23.76 billion, according to the report of the General Department of Customs and Excise.

Cambodian Commerce Undersecretary Penn Sovicheat credited the growth to the full resumption of socioeconomic activities in the country, free trade agreements and a rise in global demand.

"There is no doubt that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade pact and the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement, which both entered into force earlier this year, have given a big boost to our trade growth," he told Beijing-run Xinhua News Agency.

"Under the two free trade agreements, we're confident that our exports to international markets, especially to China and other RCEP member countries, will be bigger, especially the exports of potential agricultural products such as rice, bananas and mangoes, industrial products, and processing goods," he said.

Besides Cambodia, other RCEP members are Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Joseph Matthews, a senior professor at the Beltei International University in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, said the RCEP had injected new impetus into the country's international trade growth.

All member countries have reaped and will continue to reap the benefits of RCEP, especially Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar, Matthews told Xinhua.

"In my personal view, in the post-Covid-19 pandemic era, the RCEP will be a driving force for trade and investment in all member states," he said.

Source: The Manila Times