PHNOM PENH (The Phnom Penh Post/Asia News Network): Cambodian goods exports to mainland China reached US$588.800 million in the first five months of 2023, up 13.27 per cent year-on-year from $519.821 million and up 18.25 per cent half-on-half (compared to July-November 2022) from $497.91 million, according to Customs (GDCE).
Last month alone accounted for 25.35 per cent of the total, at $149.257 million, making it the highest export month since July 2021 ($151.477M), as indicated by provisional GDCE figures compiled in “International Merchandise Trade Statistics” bulletins.
Mainland China was Cambodia’s biggest merchandise trading partner for the period, representing 26.312 per cent, 6.412 per cent and a whopping 44.39 per cent of the Kingdom’s international trade ($19.293 billion), exports ($9.183B) and imports ($10.109B), respectively.
The volume of merchandise traded between the two jurisdictions in January-May 2023 was to the tune of $5.076 billion, up 1.72 per cent year-on-year from $4.990 billion and up 10.51 per cent half-on-half from $4.593 billion.
At the same time, the kngdom imported $4.488 billion worth of goods from mainland China, up 0.38 per cent year-on-year from $4.470 billion and up 9.57 per cent half-on-half from $4.095 billion.
Cambodia recorded a trade deficit – the amount by which a country’s imports exceed its exports – of $3.899 billion with mainland China for the five-month period, narrowing by 1.31 per cent year-on-year from $3.951 billion but expanding by 8.37 per cent half-on-half from $3.598 billion, according to the GDCE.
Cambodia Chamber of Commerce vice-president Lim Heng put down the steady increase in the two-way trade, particularly the kingdom’s exports to China, down to “good” political and diplomatic relations, the bilateral Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) that took effect on January 1, 2022, and products recently given Beijing’s green light for import.
“I am optimistic that, as production increases going forward, exports from Cambodia to China will rise even more. China will see a greater presence of Cambodian agricultural products,” he told The Post on June 15.
Heng shrugged off the nearly $4 billion trade deficit, merely stating that the Kingdom imports tonnes of textile-related raw materials from China used in the production and export of goods.
In general, Cambodia must import commodities to meet domestic demand, including construction materials, office supplies, electrical and electronic equipment, vehicles and food products, he said, adding that the kingdom exports produce and raw materials.
