The Cambodian-Vietnamese commodity trade topped $5 billion in the first 10 months of 2022, surging by over one-fifth on-year, with a sobering $1.7 billion deficit in favour of Vietnam, according to Customs, an import-export gap expected to narrow in the coming months as local harvest seasons progress. In the January-October period, the two-way commodity trade stood at $5.002 billion, up 20.54 per cent year-on-year, according to the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE), falling behind the pace needed to hit the $10-billion full-year goal proposed by the leaders of both countries Cambodian exports to and imports from Vietnam amounted…
Author: Hin Pisei
Cambodia exported more than 2.8 million tonnes of cassava in the first 10 months of 2022, up nearly three-eighths year-on-year, a new agriculture ministry report revealed, amid a global food crisis fuelled by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The report’s statistics indicate that Thailand bought the lion’s share, at 57.44 per cent or almost 1.65 million tonnes. From January to October, the Kingdom’s commercial shipments of cassava to international markets totalled 2,868,362.39 tonnes, growing by 35.67 per cent over the 2,114,240.86 tonnes recorded in the same period last year, the ministry said. The report breaks down the exports by four categories: cassava…
Cambodia’s Phka Rumduol jasmine variety has been crowned the World’s Best Rice for the fifth time at the TRT (The Rice Trader) World Rice Conference in Phuket, Thailand on November 17, according to leaders of the Kingdom’s apex rice industry body. Phka Rumduol is a type of long-grain jasmine rice that has emerged as a top choice of international buyers, and is one of the varieties exported under the “Angkor Malys” certification mark. The Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute says it released the variety for farmer use only in 1999, after 10 years of development and testing. Speaking to…
Revenues collected by the General Department of Taxation (GDT) have been on a progressive rise, buoyed by greater general understanding of tax obligations and more effective law enforcement in the area, as well as overall improvements in the economic situation, observers have said. Using a 4,050 KHR/USD conversion rate, the GDT on November 15 reported its revenues for the first 10 months of 2022 at $2.94595 billion, or 104.48 per cent of the $2.81955 billion target set for this year. The 10-month total marked a year-on-year increase of $624.31 million, or 26.9 per cent. Annual GDT revenue targets are set…
A 60MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in southwestern Kampong Chhnang province, part of the 100MW National Solar Park, was connected to the national grid on November 11, in a move to provide the people with more power resources, reported the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In a November 15 statement, the Metro Manila-based multilateral lender hailed this as a “milestone” in its partnership with national power utility Electricite du Cambodge (EdC) to develop the national solar park – located in Kampong Chhnang’s Teuk Phos district. The statement noted that its president, Masatsugu Asakawa, visited the solar park on the occasion,…
Officials and prominent business players brainstormed on the possible contents of the Cambodia-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CAM-UAE CEPA) as well as local products to be proposed as priority items under the deal during talks with Abu Dhabi going forward, at a first-of-its-kind consultation meeting held at the commerce ministry on November 14. The meeting comes after Cambodia and the UAE held the first round of formal talks on the CEPA, in Abu Dhabi from October 24-26, with results by and large lauded as “remarkable”. A CEPA is a type of free trade agreement (FTA) generally designed for…
The volume of imports and exports handled at the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone (SSEZ) totalled $2.069 billion in the first 10 months of 2022, marking a 17.09 per cent rise year-on-year from $1.767 billion, according to statistics posted by the operator at the weekend. Last month was below-average, accounting for 8.0 per cent of the 10-month total, representing a year-on-year drop of roughly one-sixth from October 2021, albeit a slight uptick over September. Sihanoukville Special Economy Zone Co Ltd, the operator of the 11.13sq km special economic zone (SEZ) – the largest by size and occupancy – tends not to…
The agriculture minister reiterated a call for eligible farmers and agricultural players to apply for subsidised electricity from state-run utility Electricite du Cambodge (EdC) to reduce costs associated with the accepted operations. Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Dith Tina made the plea during a November 14 dialogue on electric power use in agriculture, organised at his ministry, after the number of beneficiaries of the subsidised electricity scheme completely failed to live up to expectations since its launch last year. The event was attended by Minister of Mines and Energy Suy Sem, Electricity Authority of Cambodia (EAC) chairman Yim Piseth,…
Commodity trade between Cambodia and Australia totalled $438.983 million in the first 10 months of 2022, rising by 83.30 per cent year-on-year, according to the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE). In the January-October period, Cambodia exported $312.105 million worth of goods to Australia, up 106.9 per cent year-on-year, and imported $126.878 million, up 43.16 per cent. The Kingdom’s trade surplus with Australia for the 10-month period expanded by 197.61 per cent on a yearly basis to $185.227 million. In October alone, the Cambodian-Australian commodity trade came to $34.52 million, down 8.2 per cent year-on-year and 6.9 per cent…
The Phnom Penh-based Royal Group Power Co Ltd (RGP) on November 11 inked a preliminary but exclusive and binding agreement with Singapore’s Keppel Energy Pte Ltd (KE) to explore the joint development and operation of a set of proposed renewable energy projects in Cambodia. The projects are planned to have a total installed capacity of around 2.5GW, and roughly two-fifths of that are earmarked for export to Singapore via high-voltage submarine transmission, with KE as the buyer, according to a joint statement. The deal was signed at a ceremony presided over by Minister of Economy and Finance Aun Pornmoniroth, who…