PHNOM PENH: Cambodia's trade volume with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) member countries amounted to US$11.26 billion in the first quarter of 2026, a year-on-year rise of 18.5 per cent, said an official report on Wednesday (April 22).
The country's export to the fellow RCEP member countries was valued at US$2.82 billion during the January-March period this year, up 4.2 per cent, while its import reached US$8.44 billion, up 24.2 per cent, said the report compiled by the Ministry of Commerce.
The report showed that the RCEP remained the major market for Cambodia, accounting for 64 per cent of the kingdom's total trade volume of US$17.58 billion during the first quarter this year.
Cambodia's top five trading partners under the RCEP are China, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan and Thailand, the report said.
Cambodian Ministry of Commerce's Secretary of State and Spokesperson Penn Sovicheat said RCEP, the world's largest free trade pact, has played a crucial role in boosting trade growth for Cambodia.
"RCEP is a key driving force for our long-term export growth and a magnet to attract more foreign direct investment to Cambodia," he told Xinhua.
Thong Mengdavid, deputy director at the China-Asean Studies Center of the Cambodia University of Technology and Science, said as one of the RCEP members, Cambodia has been experiencing steady growth in exports and imports from China and Vietnam, among others.
"Cambodia's reliance on RCEP will remain the primary cornerstone for the kingdom's primary trade engine," he told Xinhua.
"However, the structure may become more import-intensive, reinforcing Cambodia's role as an assembly hub rather than a high-value producer unless industrial upgrading accelerates skills, logistics and digitalisation. - Xinhua
