Workers at a garment factory in Takhmao town. Garments lead the Kingdom’s total exports for this year Scott Howes
The Kingdom’s total exports for this year increased more than 23 per cent from last year to $10.36 billion, led by garments and agro-products, according to the Ministry of Commerce’s annual report.
The report shows that during the period from December last year to November this year, the Kingdom exported $10.36 billion of goods, an increase of $1.93 billion, to 147 countries.
During the two-day annual meeting on Monday and Tuesday, Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak said the growth of the garment industry is pushing Cambodia’s exports.
“The volume of exports is equivalent to 60 per cent of Cambodia’s GDP,” he said, adding that the ministry had undergone many reforms such as strengthening good governance, promoting public service, amending procedures and laws and enforcing the commerce policy.
According to the report, 51 garment factories were registered this year under the Generalised System of Preferences, 19 more than were registered last year – a 59.4 per cent increase.
The report shows that there were 156 other factories and export companies registered last year, an increase of 19 companies, or 13.9 per cent, compared to the same period last year.
“The commerce policy helps boost the value of agro-products, food safety, expand the rice quota to China as well as other markets following the free trade agreement,” Sorasak said, adding that the annual meeting will reflect the result of this year’s operations and move forward to new tasks for the coming year following government evaluation and strategy.
Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC) director-general Nguon Meng Tech added that the CCC will work closely with the ministry to track all potential information for attracting investors.
“Our exports still have more room to grow – we will work closely with the Ministry of Commerce to attract more investors, since we have a very strong policy for promoting investment,” he said.
International financial institutions, including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund, forecast Cambodia’s economic growth rate as hitting an average of seven per cent this year.
The growth was driven primarily by domestic consumption and exports, which are largely supported by strong demand in the US and EU.
