Cargo volumes at Cambodia’s two largest ports increased steadily during the first three months of the year, signalling stability in the Kingdom’s economy, port officials say.

Data from Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (SAP), Cambodia’s largest shipping dock, showed more than 860,000 20-foot-long shipping containers passed through the port during the first quarter of the year, up 13 per cent from the same period last year.

While imports accounted for more than three-quarters of the port’s total volume figures, exports increased 35 per cent year-on-year, the SAP figures show.

Chea Sambath, chief of SAP’s planning and marketing department, said the increase in both import and export shipments from the country’s largest port entry demonstrate the Cambodian economy’s secure foothold and ability to withstand political and social turbulence.

“The rise of import and exports of goods reflects the growth of our economy even when we have some demonstrations, which cause production in some factories to slow down,” he said.

Sambath pointed out that between January and March, the port saw a notable increase in agricultural exports, especially milled rice, as well as continued high levels of garment and textile exports.

Meanwhile, the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port (PPAP) saw an 18 per cent increase in volume with some 29,000 containers passing through between January and March, compared with 24,000 containers a year earlier.

Hei Bavy, director-general of PPAP, said the first-quarter rise was not as great as he had hoped, and blamed slow progress in regional and global economies.

“The volume of import and export is still increasing at the same rate as we have seen in the past few years,” he said.