English
Cambodia’s Q1 international trade at $11.3 billion
Cambodia’s international trade decreased 14.5 percent to $11.3 billion in the first quarter of 2023, according to a report from the General Department of Customs and Excise yesterday.
Cambodia exported a total of $5.4 billion worth of goods from January to March this year, a decrease of 5.7 percent from the same period last year, the report said.
The Kingdom’s imports decreased by 21.3 percent to $5.8 billion, the report said, adding that this resulted in a trade deficit of $468 million.
The US remained the biggest market for Cambodia’s products, importing $1.8 billion worth of products, a year-on-year decrease of 15.2 percent.
During the period, the Cambodia-China bilateral trade topped $2.8 billion, making China the Kingdom’s biggest trade partner.
The Kingdom’s other main trade partners are the US, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, European Union, and Vietnam.
Lim Heng, vice president of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce said the decrease in exports was largely due to the economic slowdown in the European Union and US, which are the two biggest markets for Cambodia-made products.
“The slowdown in economic growth in the EU and the US caused by the war in Ukraine has affected the purchase orders of products from Cambodia,” Heng said yesterday.
Cambodia’s main export products are garments, machinery and electrical equipment, footwear products, leather goods, grain, furniture, rubber, fruits, vegetables, pearls, toys, and textiles.
The garment, footwear and travel goods industry is the largest foreign exchange earner for Cambodia. The sector consists of roughly 1,100 factories and branches, employing approximately 750,000 workers, mostly female.
Prime Minister Hun Sen said in March that the current global economic situation is not good, both in the United States and Europe.
Although it has not fallen sharply, it has caused major problems with global inflation and took a hit in people’s income, he said.
“The United States and Europe are Cambodia’s major markets. If the US and Europe have a slowdown in economic growth, it will lead to purchase order problems because Cambodia exports more to the US and Europe. Rice is also exported to the European market,” he said.
This situation saw a decline in orders from outside, especially clothes and footwear, he added.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501271231/cambodias-q1-international-trade-at-11-3-billion/