Cambodia’s exports to Thailand soar 115 percent

• Apr 27, 2020

Cambodia’s exports to Thailand skyrocketed in the first three months of this year, although the two countries have faced strict movement of cross-border trade because of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.

From January to March this year, Cambodia’s total exports to the neighbouring country were valued at $612 million, a 115 percent increase compared with the same period a year before.

Cambodia imported from Thailand $1,891 million of goods, a 17 percent increase year-on-year rise, according to official data from Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce.

The data shows that the bilateral trade between the Kingdoms grew by 31 percent in the first three months to $2,503 million.

The increased amount of bilateral trade between the two countries reflects the good relations between the two nations, particularly government-to-government, said Seang Thay, a spokesman at Cambodia’s Ministry of Commerce.

“The relationship between the governments of the two countries, particularly between the two ministries of commerce, has seen strong cooperation that has pushed the value of trade… and we agreed to promote the bilateral trade to further increase it,” Thay told Khmer Times in a previous interview.

Agricultural products accounted for the majority of Cambodian exports to Thailand, while Thai exports to Cambodia primarily consisted of energy resources, agriculture fertiliser, cement, food supplies and cosmetics.

In 2015, the leaders of the two governments agreed to triple bilateral trade to $15 billion by 2020 from $5 billion in 2015.

Although the target will not be reached, the growth in trade is on a rising trend. Last year, the two-way trade between the two countries grow by 12 percent to $9.4 billion.

Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50717339/cambodias-exports-to-thailand-soar-115-percent/