Cambodia’s exports to Japan worth $1.752 bn in 2021, keen on FTA

Cambodia is keen to establish bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) with major trading partners, including Japan, its commerce ministry has said. Cambodia exported $1.752 billion worth of goods to Japan in 2021, a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 8.4 per cent, according to data from the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), which said two-way trade volume reached $2,332 million.

Cambodia imported $580 million worth of products from the East Asian nation—a rise of 19.7 per cent over the figure a year before, the report said. This made Cambodia’s trade surplus with Japan at $1,172 million, decreasing $40 million from 2020.

JETRO listed garments and electrical and electronic components as key Cambodian exports to Japan; and machinery, electronics and high-tech products as the main imports.

Cambodia is keen to establish bilateral free trade agreements with major trading partners, including Japan, its commerce ministry has said. Cambodia exported $1.752 billion worth of goods to Japan in 2021, a year-on-year rise of 8.4 per cent,according to data from the Japan External Trade Organisation , which said two-way trade volume reached $2,332 million.

Lim Heng, vice president of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, told a Cambodian newspaper that the FTA will boost trade activities between the two countries, particularly encouraging new investors from Japan and other countries to come to Cambodia to produce for exports to Japan.

Cambodia has signed bilateral free trade agreements with China and South Korea and is in the process of negotiating FTAs with Japan, India, Mongolia, Canada and the United Kingdom to diversify markets and boost exports.

The Ministry of Commerce has set up a working group to study and collect input from stakeholders and the private sector to develop strategies to maximise the benefits of implementing the free trade agreement to which Cambodia is a signatory.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)