[PHNOM PENH POST]
Cambodia's total exports surged 42 per cent through November to US$4.5
billion from $3.16 billion, official data from the Ministry of Commerce
showed, as the Kingdom’s staple products of garments, textiles and
agriculture led the move.
Rising global demand, new trade
agreements with regional neighbours and tariff-free shipments to the
European Union drove this growth, according to Kong Putheara, director
of the ministry’s statistics department.
“Our exports keep
growing. We’re on a very good track,” Kong Putheara said on Friday,
adding that milled-rice exports, especially, had sizeable increases
during the period.
Milled-rice exports rose about 196 per cent
year-on-year through November to $87.5 million, up from $29.6 million in
the year-ago per-iod, according to the ministry’s data.
University
of Cambodia business and economics lecturer Chheng Kimlong said the
country’s production sector was improving, allowing for more exports as
well as local consumption.
“This year, we see our exports to the
EU are getting higher and higher . . . That’s good for us, because we
not only export garments and textiles to the EU, but also our
agricultural products,” he said.
Ministry of Commerce data showed
that the export of garments and textiles rose about 40 per cent to
$3.95 billion, up from $2.82 billion last year.
Total exports of
agricultural products such as fish, processed wood, cashew nuts and
rubber reached $285.6 million, an increase of about 123 per cent over
last year’s total of $128.2 million.
Total imports also jumped, increasing by about 40 per cent to $5.98 billion from $4.28 billion.
Minister
of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon last week expressed concerns about
the European debt crisis and the economic slowdown in the US, both of
which he said might have an impact on exports next year.
But
Kong Putheara said there was still demand for Cambodian products from
both the European Union and the United States, adding that the Kingdom
was trying to diversify its exported products and target markets.
Still,
Chheng Kimlong said that if the situation in the West did not improve,
it would definitely have an impact on the Kingdom’s export power.
“Market diversification is very important for us, and we see the government is working on it,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment