Cambodia’s total export to other member countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) totaled 3.28 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of 2022, up 10 percent year-on-year, a report of the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

During the January-June period this year, Cambodia’s top three export destinations were Vietnam, China and Japan, the report said, adding that the kingdom shipped products worth 1.17 billion dollars to Vietnam, 612 million dollars to China and 542 million dollars to Japan.

The RCEP free trade agreement comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries including 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam — and their five trading partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Cambodian Ministry of Commerce’s undersecretary of state and spokesman Penn Sovicheat said RCEP and the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA), which both took effect on Jan. 1 this year, are a contributing factor to boost Cambodia’s exports.

“Our export growth is a testament to the larger market access of our products to other RCEP member countries with tariff concessions,” he told a press conference in Phnom Penh on Thursday. “The two FTAs have been giving a boost to our economic growth in the long term.”

Meanwhile, Sovicheat said China has played a leading role in assisting the least developed countries (LDCs) including Cambodia through preferential tariffs, noting that the support was crucial to helping the LDCs boost their economic development.

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Author: Xinhua

Source: Khmer Times

Publication date: 24 July 2022