RCEP boosts Cambodia’s striking export growth

CAMBODIA earned over $6 billion from exports to members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in the first 10 months of 2023, an over 25% increase compared to the corresponding period of 2022. The rise is attributed to improvements in regional and global economic conditions in recent months.

A December 6 report from the Ministry

of Commerce detailed that from January to October, Cambodia exported goods worth $6.45 billion to the top five RCEP members: Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, China and Japan. This represents a 26.5% year-on-year surge.

The RCEP, an ASEAN initiative, is the largest free trade agreement (FTA) globally, covering 15 countries including the 10 ASEAN member states and five key Indo-Pacific countries: Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

Ministry spokesperson Penn Sovicheat told The Post on December 6 that the RCEP implementation has significantly benefited the country, particularly in exporting to member states, a new potential growth area in the region.

He said this comes amid a slowdown in exports to traditional markets – Europe and the US – due to geopolitical tensions and the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The effectiveness of the RCEP in 2022 has become a new driver for Cambodia’s long-term export growth. Under the agreement, numerous tariff reductions allow Cambodia to capitalise on opportunities to spur exports,” he stated.

Sovicheat highlighted that China is a major market for the country, particularly for potential agricultural products such as milled rice, yellow bananas, mangos, longans and pepper.