Thailand
Cambodia: Bicycle exports jump nearly 25% so far this year
Cambodian bicycle manufacturers earned more than $400 million from exports in the year to Aug 31, according to the Commerce Ministry. Shipments were 24.5 percent higher than the first eight months of 2020. If overseas demand remains strong, 12-month exports are likely to exceed last year’s $527 million, which was a rise of 29 percent compared with 2019.
Sales have picked up after a sluggish start to the year. Exports fell 4.2 percent year-on-year in the first six months compared with January to June 2020.
There are five bicycle exporters makers in the Kingdom, all manufacturing bikes in special economic zones in Svay Rieng province near the Vietnam border.
The three biggest bike makers in the Kingdom are all headquartered in Bavet City, employing around 6,000 people. Their parent companies are based in Taiwan. A&J (Cambodia) Co Ltd sells to the US, Canada, Mexico and Switzerland. SpeedTech Industrial Co Ltd and Smart Tech (Cambodia) Co Ltd focus on the US market.
The other two bike producers are owned by Chinese firms. XDS Bicycle (Cambodia) Co Ltd is based in Svay Rieng town and exports to the US under the Trek brand. Evergrand Bicycle (Cambodia) Co Ltd is in Krong Bavet city and also focuses on North American buyers.
A&J, SpeedTech and Smart Tech are members of the Cambodia Bicycle Coalition, set up in 2019 to promote fair trade between the Kingdom and EU nations. The bike makers teamed up after the European Union said it would partially withdraw Cambodia’s preferential access to EU markets under the Everything But Arms trade policy for Least-Developed Countries. As of August 2020 bicycles became subject to some EU customs duties. In 2019 more than 80 percent of Cambodia’s bicycle exports went to Europe.
The EU was Cambodia’s largest trading partner in 2018, accounting for 45 of the Kingdom’s exports of all products. Last year it was the number three export destination behind China and the US, accounting for nearly 11 percent of total exports.
Europe is still the number two export market for Cambodian bicycles, behind the US, with EU countries including Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Austria accounting for a large portion of overseas sales, along with former EU member the UK. Asian markets include China, Japan, ASEAN members and South Korea.
Cambodia imports bicycles mainly from the US, Japan, China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50931087/bicycle-exports-jump-nearly-25-so-far-this-year/