Cambodia’s export to Japan up 10% at $1.6B

Cambodia exported $1,658 million worth of products to Japan in the first ten months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 10.7 percent, according to data from the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).

From January to October, Cambodia’s import from the East Asia nation was valued at $433 million, a decrease of 9.1 percent compared to the same period last year.

The bilateral trade between both nations during the period was $2,081 million, the report said.

The main exports to Japan are garments, bags, footwear, furniture, cosmetics, paper and office supplies, and leather goods.

Cambodia imported machinery, automobiles, electronics, furniture, fabrics and plastics from Japan.

Cambodia looks upon Japan as a prioritized trade partner for talks on a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) to be established, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The ministry has announced its plan to form a working group tasked to facilitate the negotiations of the bilateral FTA between Japan and Cambodia.

The talks are set to be conducted soon as the Kingdom has already inked two bilateral FTAs with China and South Korea.

Lim Heng, vice president of Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, applauded the move, saying that FTA will provide benefits to Cambodia in terms of gaining market access to Japan and attracting new investment from Japan.

Cambodia has two bilateral free trade agreements with China and South Korea, which contribute beneficially to the country’s product export, he said.

“Gaining Japanese market access under the FTA will gradually benefit products and in terms of investment, we will attract more direct investment from Japan,” Heng told Khmer Times yesterday.

Prime Minister Hun Sen last week lauded the rising bilateral trade volume between the two countries through Japanese investment in Cambodia and export to Japan.

“I am indeed very happy to work with my Japanese counterpart. We have a lot of things to do together. However, what we want most is more Japanese investors in Cambodia,” he said at the 11th Anniversary Ceremony of Minebea (Cambodia) Co Ltd in the capital on December 1.

The ‘comprehensive strategic partnership’ between both countries is expected to attract more Japanese investment and open wider Japanese market for Cambodian products.

Source: Khmer Times