Cambodia’s January-August exports to and trade surplus with Canada both rose by around one-quarter on-year, a pattern that is expected to continue, driven by preferential commercial arrangements and initiatives spearheaded by the representative offices of the apex Cambodian trade body, as the Kingdom pushes for a lucrative free trade pact with the world’s ninth largest economy.

In the first eight months of 2022, bilateral trade between Cambodia and Canada came to $804.406 million, up 22.61 per cent year-on-year, with the Kingdom’s exports worth $780.188 million, up 24.03 per cent, and imports totalling $24.217 million, down 10.4 per cent, according to the General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia (GDCE).

The Kingdom’s trade surplus with Canada for the period expanded by 25.58 per cent on a yearly basis, from $602.001 million to $755.971 million. As the fifth biggest buyer of Cambodian goods over the first eight months of the year – after the US, Vietnam, China and Japan – Canada accounted for a 4.99 per cent share.

Speaking to The Post on October 3, Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC) vice-president Lim Heng commented that, prior to Covid-19, the Kingdom’s exports to Canada had been on a years-long upward trajectory.

Heng ascribed this year’s export growth momentum on the Canadian market, and its expected continuation for the foreseeable future, to improved diplomatic relations between the two countries, benefits for certain Cambodian goods under Canada’s General Preferential Tariff (GPT) regime, and the existing and subsequent CCC representative offices on Canadian soil.

With Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reportedly planning to attend the ASEAN Summit in Cambodia next month, Heng anticipates a number of key talks aimed at promoting bilateral trade cooperation between the two countries.

He shared that Cambodian-made goods exported to the Canadian market mainly comprise garments, footwear and travel goods, bicycles, electrical equipment and electronic components, and agricultural products, while imports from Canada include cars, construction materials, and modern technological equipment.

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Author: Hin Pisei

Source: The Phnom Penh Post

Publication date: 03 October 2022