Bilateral trade between Cambodia and Japan in the first eight months of 2022 rose by more than one-sixth on-year, in a trend expected to carry into the foreseeable future, largely driven by agricultural exports from the Kingdom. Still, the business community is calling for greater efforts to identify and develop new products that could command high demand on the Japanese market.

Between January and August, trade between the two countries totalled $1.332 billion, rising by 16.86 per cent year-on-year, with Cambodian exports to Japan accounting for $789.167 million, up 10.65 per cent, and imports $543.095 million, up 27.22 per cent, according to the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE).

The Kingdom’s trade surplus with Japan for the period narrowed by 14.0 per cent to $246.072 million.

In August alone, bilateral trade came to $194.74 million, up 21.0 per cent year-on-year, with Cambodian exports to Japan representing $121.24 million, up 5.0 per cent, and imports $73.49 million, up 61.5 per cent. The Kingdom’s trade surplus with Japan for last month shrunk by 31.8 per cent on a yearly basis to $47.75 million.

Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC) vice-president Lim Heng told The Post that Japanese imports mostly comprise finished goods, including vehicles, electronics and machinery – especially for agricultural use – while the bulk of the Kingdom’s exports consist of textile-related items, agricultural products, and electrical equipment and components.

Cambodia-Japan trade will remain on a high growth trajectory for the time being, propelled by “good cooperation” between government leaders and investors of the two countries, he predicted, affirming that investment from Japanese companies into the Kingdom is currently on an upswing.

However, Cambodia must make more effort to find products that are in high demand on the Japanese market and ensure that they meet international standards, he suggested, indicating that agricultural goods will most likely remain one of the Kingdom’s primary exports to Japan going forward.

For full article, please read here

Author: Hin Pisei

Source: The Phnom Penh Post

Publication date: 13 September 2022