Spain is Cambodia’s top EU trading partner

European Union countries have a prominent role in the Kingdom’s implementation of trade diversification policies, and 13.76 percent rise in exports during the first nine months of the current year is really a welcome trend.

With a trade volume of $896 million in the first nine months of the current year, Spain has become the top European Union (EU) trading partner of Cambodia, latest data from the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) showed.

Spain is closely followed by Germany ($844 million) while France, Belgium, Italy, and the Netherlands, also have substantial trade numbers with the Kingdom.

Cambodia’s exports to the European Union have shown a robust growth reaching $3.75 billion in the first nine months of the year, marking a significant 13.76 percent increase compared to the same period last year, the MoC report said.

The Kingdom’s exports to the EU constituted 16 percent of the total exports at $23.2 billion. Meanwhile, during the January-September period, the Kingdom’s imports from the EU nations amounted to $654 million, down 11.89 percent on a year-on-year basis.

The two-way trade between the Kingdom and the EU stood at $4.4 billion, which is an increase of nine percent compared to the previous year.

Penn Sovicheat, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Commerce, said that the official trade figures highlight the competitiveness and quality improvement of Cambodian-made goods.

“The surge in exports to the EU showed that Cambodia’s products, mostly apparel, textiles, footwear, travel goods, bicycles, and agricultural products, are competitive and fulfill larger orders and meet growing market demand,” Sovicheat said.

This strong performance comes despite global economic headwinds and partial withdrawal of the EU’s Everything But Arms (EBA) trade preferences for some Cambodian products, the official added.

Cambodia mainly exports textiles, footwear, bicycles, foodstuffs, milled rice and other agricultural products to the EU under the EBA (Everything but Arms) scheme.

However, the Kingdom has been urged to make the critical initiatives for continued reforms and internal strengthening, as the country prepares for eventual LDC graduation.

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in December 2024 confirming the graduation of Cambodia from the Least Developed Countries (LDC) category in 2029 along with the African country Senegal.

The Cambodian Government has been formulating legal and institutional reforms and diversification, which are of critical importance for strategic planning as Cambodia prepares to graduate from its Least Developed Country (LDC) status.
Preparing for the 2029 graduation requires a multi-faceted approach, including legal and institutional reforms, strengthening productive capacity, and facilitating export diversification.

At 4,143 percent, Spain registered the highest trade coverage ratio with Cambodia during the last year, according to the data released by the General Department of Customs and Excise within the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The foreign trade coverage ratio is the ratio between the value of exports and that of imports between two countries.

Spain is followed by the US (3,754 percent), the Netherlands (2,178 percent), Canada (1,799 percent), the United Kingdom (1,785 percent) and Belgium (1,368 percent).

Source: Khmer Times