Workers at a garment factory in the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone. Such factories are heavily reliant on imported raw materials to maintain their production. Post Staff
In the first eight months of the year, almost 75% of Cambodia’s imports arrived from just three nations: China, Vietnam and Thailand.
The almost $14 billion in imports were not only required to meet the demands of the domestic market, but included many of the essential raw materials used to produce goods which were then exported to international markets.
According to the General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia (GDCE), from January to August, Cambodia imported $18.9 billion in goods, a 16% rise on the same period last year.
China, Vietnam, and Thailand accounted for $13.91 billion of the imports, 73.59% of the total value. This represented a 2.5% rise on last year’s Jan-Aug figures.
According to the GDCE, China supplied nearly $8.93 billion, up almost 15% on the same period last year, while Vietnam and Thailand were the source of $2.77 billion and $2.22 billion respectively, with similar proportional increases to Chinese imports.
The Kingdom also imported goods from countries as diverse as Japan, Chile, Australia and Denmark.
Lim Heng, vice-president of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, told The Post on September 27 that geographical proximity and the excellent relations between the governments and private sectors of the three countries have led to the increased flow of trade.
He noted that China, despite not sharing a border with Cambodia, is currently the world's largest supplier of goods and raw materials. Meanwhile, Vietnam and Thailand, which share borders with Cambodia, experience a strong daily flow of goods.
Heng reiterated that the large amount of Chinese imports reflected the demand for raw materials needed by the Cambodian manufacturers of export goods.
“Geographical factors and strong cooperation, along with the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) between the three countries and Cambodia, will continue to drive substantial import volumes from these three countries in the future,” he said, adding that China, Vietnam, and Thailand are also major markets for Cambodian exports, purchasing millions’ of dollars worth of goods each year.
GDCE data showed that in the first eight months of the year, the three countries purchased about $4.18 billion worth of goods from the Kingdom, representing 23.8% of the more than $17.58 billion of goods exported from Cambodia.
Ky Sereyvath, an economist at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, has noted that trade exchanges between Cambodia and China, Vietnam and Thailand have been remarkably smooth, largely because of the RCEP agreement.
He added that in the current uncertain global political and economic climate, trade exchanges with neighbouring countries or within the region are both vital and essential.
“Given the geographical proximity and strong relations between both government and private sectors, trade exchanges between Cambodia and China, Vietnam, and Thailand will continue to grow,” he added.
The GDCE reported that in 2023, Cambodia imported over $17.29 billion worth of goods from the three countries – more than 71% of the almost $24.18 billion in total imported goods.
