Cambodia exports to US surge around 46% in January 2022

The US remains the top country for the Kingdom’s total exports, thanks to the trade preference schemes – Generalised System of Preference (GSP) and the Most-Favoured Nation status, which allows for discounts on imports. Bilateral trade topped $875.5 million, a year-on-year increase of 42.4 percent Cambodia’s exports to the United States surged 45.9 percent to $847.6 million in January this year, compared to the same month in the previous year, according to figures from the US Census Bureau. The bilateral trade topped $875.5 million, a year-on-year increase of 42.4 percent. However, the Kingdom’s imports from the US dropped by 17.6 percent to $27.9 million. The US remains the top country for the Kingdom’s total exports, thanks to the trade preference schemes – Generalised System of Preference (GSP) and the Most-Favoured Nation status, which allows for discounts on imports. Lim Heng, Vice-President of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, said that the increased exports to the US reflect manufacturing and production chains in Cambodia that have resumed activity despite the year-long threat of Covid-19. The US market remains the biggest market for Cambodia because the main products exported were cloth and footwear products, he said. According to the Ministry of Commerce, travel and bag products contributed a big share in exports after benefitting from the GSP. Some countries have faced difficulty resuming their garment production chains due to Covid-19 and the political crisis. Foreign orders have been transferred to Cambodia, which replied positively to the increasing purchase orders, Heng said on Wednesday. “Despite the Covid-19 threat, the imports of raw materials from China to Cambodia have increased. It has helped increase exports of finished garment products to the US,” he said. In spite of facing challenges over raw material supplies and strict security measures at borders due to the Covid-19, Cambodia’s garment sector saw robust growth in exports last year. The export amount of the garment, footwear and travel goods increased by 15.2 percent to $11.38 billion last year, figures from the General Department of Customs and Excise showed. On Monday, Patrick Murphy, US Ambassador to Cambodia, said that about 30 percent of textile-related exports from Cambodia went to the United States. During a discussion on US-Cambodia bilateral relations, he attributed the increase in exports of textiles to the excellent cooperation between Cambodia and the United States, despite some other challenges. Heng said that under the implementation of the country’s new investment law and the high rate of the vaccinated population, the Kingdom is likely to attract more foreign investments. This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources. Khmer Daily