PHNOM PENH: Cambodia earned over US$3.36 billion from exports to members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in the first four months this year, up 16.2 percent from US$2.89 billion recorded in the same period in 2023.

The figures were shared by the Ministry of Commerce in a report released on Wednesday, adding that at the same time, the Kingdom imported US$7.83 billion worth of products from the RCEP countries, up 13 percent from US$6.93 billion.

Cambodian exports to RCEP countries accounted for 44.57 percent of the Kingdom's total exports of US$8.82 billion in the four-month period, it pointed out.

Cambodia's two-way trade with RCEP rose by 13.98 percent to US$11.19 billion, or 66.2 percent of the country's total international trade of US$16.91 billion, stated the report.

Cambodia's trade with RCEP countries has increased thanks to trade preferences under the mega-regional trade pact, said H.E. Penn Sovicheat, Secretary of State and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce.

“With almost zero trade tariffs, exporters have been able to take advantage of the trade deal, resulting in increased exports and imports from Cambodia,” he said.

The RCEP free trade agreement entered into force on Jan. 1, 2022. The regional trade pact comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries including the ten Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) — 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.

RCEP nations collectively represent about 2.2 billion people, or 30 percent of the global population, contributing US$26.2 trillion to the gross domestic product (GDP), which is 30 percent of the worldwide GDP. Member countries account for approximately 28 percent of global trade, according to the ministry.