Cambodia's trade up 18 per cent in first nine months

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 10 (Xinhua): Cambodia's foreign trade volume reached US$41 billion the first nine months of 2022, up 18 percent from 34.76 billion dollars in the same period last year, an official report to the media has showed.

The kingdom's total exports were worth US$17.25 billion during the January-September period this year, up 22.1 per cent year-on-year, and total imports hit US$23.76 billion, up 15.2 per cent, according to the General Department of Customs and Excise's report.

Cambodian Ministry of Commerce's Undersecretary of State Penn Sovicheat attributed the growth to the full resumption of socio-economic activities in Cambodia, free trade agreements, and a rise in global demand.

"There is no doubt that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade pact and the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA), which both entered into force earlier this year, have given a big boost to our trade growth," he told Xinhua.

"Under the two free trade agreements, we're confident that our exports to international markets, especially to China and other RCEP member countries, will be bigger, especially the exports of potential agricultural products such as rice, bananas and mangoes, industrial products, and processing goods," Sovicheat said.

The RCEP comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Joseph Matthews, a senior professor at the BELTEI International University in Phnom Penh, said that the RCEP has injected new impetus into Cambodia's international trade growth.

All member countries have reaped and will continue to reap the benefits of RCEP, especially Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar, he told Xinhua.

"In my personal view, in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, the RCEP will be a driving force for trade and investment in all member states," Matthews said. - Xinhua