Exports to Singapore in the first eight months of 2023 rose over 6.5 times to $476.9 million from $72.8 million in the corresponding period in 2022, as bilateral trade fell 62.8 per cent to $1.1 billion due to lower imports from Singapore, according to the General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia (GDCE).
The GDCE’s International Commodity Trade Statistics showed that from January to August, Cambodia imported goods worth $625.8 million from Singapore, which is a decrease of 78.3 per cent from $2.9 billion last year.
The period’s bilateral trade volume stood at $1.1 billion compared to $2.96 billion in the first eight months of 2022, which resulted in a significant narrowing of Cambodia’s trade deficit with Singapore to $148.9 million against $2.8 billion last year. Singapore is Cambodia’s sixth largest international trading partner, led by China, the US, Vietnam, Thailand and Japan.
For August 2023, trade between the two countries totalled $211.4 million, down 40.3 per cent from August 2022, with Cambodia’s exports to Singapore up 556.4 per cent at $28.9 million while imports from Singapore dropped 47.8 per cent to $182.6 million.
Hong Vanak, an economics researcher at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, told The Post on September 27 that the high export growth value to Singapore is linked to the impact of Covid-19 in key economic sectors in 2022 which resulted in a sharp decline in exports to Singapore. The exports rose significantly on the back of growing demand in Singapore and the shipment of export goods for resale in other countries.
He said Singapore is not only a destination for international cargo ships, but also a hub for transshipment and repacking of goods for resale in global markets.
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Author: Hin Pisei
News: The Phnom Penh Post
October 04, 2023
