English
Cambodia: Goods transport up, but shipping cost too rising
Transportation of goods to and from Cambodia has significantly improved since the government decided to reopen the economy in November 2021 after the Covid-19 shutdown.
Sin Chanthy, president of Cambodia Freight Forwarders Association, told Khmer Times that the country’s export-import shipments have increased this year due to unhindered transportation but shipping costs have also gone up between 15 and 20 percent following the rise in fuel prices.
He said that the transport sector is facing three serious challenges. “First, it is the rising cost of shipping to other countries in the region and outside. The second problem is the lack of containers at ports. The third challenge is the war between Ukraine and Russia that has pushed up the prices of fuel,” Chanthy said.
However, he added, “But we think that goods transportation will decline in Europe and the United States, and that will divert trade back into this region.”
“At the beginning of April 2022, shipping costs showed an increase of 15 to 20 percent and hence the profits declined. Overall, shipping costs are not expected to decrease at any time near because fuel prices have been rising for some time,” he said.
Recently, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport focused on four Asean framework agreements to improve regional transportation. These agreements include the Asean Framework Agreement on Freight Transit, the Intergovernmental Agreement on Transport of Goods, the Multimodal Transport Agreement and the Agreement for Transport of Passengers by Land.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501089252/goods-transport-up-but-shipping-cost-too-rising/