The five biggest buyers of Cambodian goods accounted for 65.09 per cent of the Kingdom’s merchandise exports in the first 10 months of 2022 – at $12.204 billion or up 14.83 per cent on-year – comprising mostly of agricultural and textile-related products.
The same five destinations – the US, Vietnam, Japan, mainland China and Canada in order of market share – were also the top buyers in January-October 2021, taking in $10.627 billions worth of goods then, representing a 67.60 per cent share.
In the January-October period, Cambodia’s merchandise exports totalled $18.748 billion, up 19.25 per cent compared to the $15.722 billion logged in the same time last year.
The US imported the most Cambodian goods, at $7.618 billion, marking a 25.39 per cent year-on-year rise and accounting for a 40.63 per cent share, followed by Vietnam ($1.664 billion; up 2.77%; 8.89% share), Japan ($988.389 million; up 7.38%; 5.27% share), mainland China ($987.872 million; down 19.17%; 5.27% share) and Canada ($945.315 million; up 19.66%; 5.04% share).
Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC) vice-president Lim Heng posits that many big companies have been convinced to buy Cambodian products due to their reasonable prices and quality, on top of the Kingdom’s strategic geographical location and preferential tariff arrangements with a host of trading countries.
He offered his two cents that Cambodian exports could grow materially faster, especially those shipped to the top five markets, should the Kingdom maintain a steady influx of investment.
“I expect Cambodia’s exports to all those countries to jump further, especially as global economic growth improves,” Heng told The Post on December 6.
Ky Sereyvath, economics researcher at the Royal Academy of Cambodia (RAC) and director of the RAC’s China Studies Center, told The Post that the top five export markets have been major buyers of Cambodian goods for a long time, notably of garments, bags, footwear and agricultural products.
He reckoned that the chief reason why they choose to buy so many Cambodian goods is because they either have a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Kingdom, or otherwise provide it with preferential tariff treatment.
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Author: Hin Pisei
Source: The Phnom Penh Post
Publication date: 07 December 2022
