[INNEWS Comprehensive Report] According to the latest report from the General Department of Customs of Cambodia (GDCE), China, Vietnam and Thailand are Cambodia’s largest suppliers of goods, with a total of nearly 10 billion US dollars in the first seven months of 2023, accounting for more than 70% of Cambodia’s total imports . This figure represents an increase of approximately 13.8% over the same period in 2022.
The report shows that from January to July 2023, Cambodia’s imports from these three countries were nearly US$10 billion, accounting for 71.2% of total imports. Among them, exports from China exceeded US$6.2 billion, accounting for 44.3% of total imports. Vietnam exceeded US$2 billion, accounting for 15%, and Thailand exceeded US$1.68 billion, accounting for 11.9%.
Lim Heng, vice president of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, said that as the world’s second largest economy bordering Cambodia, China, Vietnam and Thailand have become important sources of materials for Cambodia. In addition to meeting domestic demand, Cambodia also purchases large amounts of raw materials from these three countries to complete the production process or process them for re-export to the international market.
He believes that as the global economy recovers, imports from these three countries will further accelerate, especially the export of processed raw materials and finished products. Through good cooperation between the government and the private sector and geographical advantages, he believes that Cambodia’s trade with these three countries will continue to maintain a positive development trend.
In addition to signing a bilateral free trade agreement with Cambodia, China, Vietnam and Thailand are also members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
The report shows that in the first seven months of 2023, these three countries purchased nearly US$3 billion worth of goods from Cambodia, equivalent to 22.1% of Cambodia’s total merchandise exports of more than US$13.5 billion.
Ky Sereywat, chairman of the China Studies Center at the Royal Academy of Arts in Cambodia, said trade between Cambodia, China, Vietnam and Thailand has been very good. In the stage of world political and economic downturn, trade exchanges between neighboring countries or regions are particularly important. He further said that based on geographical location and good relations between the government and the private sector, trade exchanges between Cambodia and these three countries will continue to expand in the future.
According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs of Cambodia, in 2022, Cambodia imported goods worth more than 18 billion US dollars from China, Vietnam and Thailand, accounting for 60.93% of Cambodia’s total imports, nearly 30 billion US dollars. This data fully proves the important position of these three countries in Cambodia’s import market.
