Cambodian PM says economy to grow 7 pct this year

[XINHUA]

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 14 -- Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday that the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth will be at around seven percent in 2011 though the agriculture shrinks due to recent floods.

"All sectors supporting Cambodia's growth -- garment industry, tourism and construction have seen remarkably increased this year," he said during a graduation ceremony of students at the University of Cambodia.

"Now, we're waiting to see practical performance of the agricultural sector. If the sector grows just zero percent, Cambodia's economic growth is forecasted at around seven percent."

Cambodia's agricultural sector is almost entirely dependent on rice paddies. This year, the country has planted about 2.4 million hectares. Unfortunately, the recent floods completely destroyed 220,000 hectares or nine percent of the total production.

Hun Sen said the exact yield of rice production this year will be released in April next year.

The International Monetary Fund predicted last week that Cambodia's growth was 7.5 percent this year, whilst the World Bank said it was at six percent and the Asian Development Bank said it was at 6.8 percent.