PHNOM PENH (Xinhua): Cambodia's trade with its fellow Asean member states hit US$7.96 billion during the first half of 2024, up 11.6 per cent from US$7.13 billion over the same period 2023, said a report from the Ministry of Commerce has announced.
Also, Cambodia's trade with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) countries reached US$16.9 billion in the first half of 2024, up 14 per cent from US$14.8 billion over the same period in 2023, said a Ministry of Commerce's report on Saturday.
The country's trade volume with fellow RCEP members accounted for 64 per cent of its 26.3-billion-dollar total trade volume during the January-June period this year, the report said.
As for the region side, the kingdom exported products worth US$2.68 billion to other Asean countries during the January-June period this year, up 8 per cent from US$2.48 billion over the same period last year, the report said.
Meanwhile, the country's import from its fellow Asean countries was valued at US$5.28 billion, up 13.5 per cent from 4.65 billion dollars, it added.
The report said Cambodia's trade volume with the Asean accounted for 30.2 per cent of its 26.3-billion-dollar total trade volume during the first half of this year.
The country's top five trading partners in Asean are Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia, the report added.
Asean groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet has said the country stood as a vibrant partner within the Asean countries.
"Cambodia's strategic membership in key regional and global trade agreements, including Asean and the World Trade Organization, positions it as a highly integrated player within the dynamic global market," he said in a recent speech.
He added that made-in-Cambodia products, encompassing garments and bicycles, are currently recognised in Asean and worldwide for their quality and competitive pricing.
Cambodian Ministry of Commerce's Secretary of State and Spokesperson Penn Sovicheat said the kingdom has seen a rise in the exports of garments and textiles, solar panels, electronics, and agricultural products such as milled rice and cashew nuts to Asean during the first half of this year.
As for the RCEP side, the South-East Asian nation exported products worth US$4.52 billion dollars to the RCEP countries during the first half of this year, up 11 per cent from US$4.07 billion over the same period in 2023, it said.
Meanwhile, the country recorded an import of goods worth US$12.38 billion dollars from RCEP countries, up 15.3 per cent from 10.73 billion dollars over the same period last year, it added.
Entered into force in 2022, the RCEP comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries including 10 ASEAN member states -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and their five trading partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
Cambodian Ministry of Commerce's Secretary of State and Spokesperson Penn Sovicheat said the RCEP is a driving force for Cambodia's trade growth and a magnet to attract more foreign direct investments to the kingdom.
"Despite rising protectionism and weakening global demand, the RCEP has given a boost to regional trade cooperation, bringing tremendous benefits to all member countries," he told Xinhua.
"With preferential tariffs offered under the RCEP agreement, there's no doubt that our export to RCEP countries will continue to rise throughout the second half of this year and beyond," he added.
Sovicheat said the RCEP agreement and other bilateral free trade agreements will help Cambodia realize its ambitious goals of becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income nation by 2050.
"I believe that the RCEP will help transform Asean into a new engine of growth for Asia," he said. - Xinhua
