[INNEWS Comprehensive Report] Lim Heng, Vice President of the General Chamber of Commerce of Cambodia, recently stated that illegal imports and foreign goods without quality inspection are having a serious impact on Cambodia’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
In order to protect the interests of domestic production, especially the SME sector, measures must be taken to prevent the import of illegal goods. Lin Xing emphasized that countries in the ASEAN Economic Community or the WTO can trade, export and import, but Cambodia prefers to achieve fair competition and protect the survival of local small and medium-sized enterprises.
On the other hand, if imported products do not meet the appropriate quality standards, it will directly threaten the health of consumers. Therefore, effective enforcement of import and export laws to avoid unfair competition becomes crucial. Cambodian businessman Nim Vannak pointed out that imported meat puts local farmers in a difficult situation. The Ministry of Agriculture needs to increase farmers’ profits by reducing production costs. Preventing import tax evasion is also key.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in Cambodia’s economic development, contributing about 60% of GDP and creating about 70% of the national economy. Therefore, protecting and developing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is considered key to driving growth in Cambodia’s industrial sector and realizing the government’s transformation plan to make Cambodia an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income country by 2050.
