PHNOM PENH, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia exported products worth 19.83 billion U.S. dollars in the first nine months of 2024, up 17 percent from 16.94 billion dollars over the same period last year, said a report from the General Department of Customs and Excise released on Thursday.
Key exported items included garments, footwear, and travel goods, bicycles, car tires, and potential agricultural produce such as rice, rubber, cassava, bananas, mangoes, and longans the report said.
The top five export destinations for the Southeast Asian nation are the United States, Vietnam, China, Japan, and Canada, the report added.
Meanwhile, the kingdom recorded a total import of 21.1 billion dollars during the January-September period this year, up 15.9 percent from 18.2 billion dollars over the same period last year, the report said.
Main imported goods included petroleum, raw materials for garments, footwear and travel goods, vehicles, machinery, electronic appliances, and consuming products, among others, it added.
Ministry of Commerce's Secretary of State and Spokesperson Penn Sovicheat said the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement and the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) had given a big boost to the country's trade growth.
"Both the RCEP and the CCFTA have served as a catalyst for our long-term and sustainable trade growth," he told Xinhua. "The two trade deals are also a magnet to attract more foreign direct investments to Cambodia."
RCEP comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries including 10 ASEAN member states including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and their five trading partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. ■