PHNOM PENH: Cambodia's international trade amounted to US$15.16 billion in the first four months of this year, a 14.1 percent decrease compared to the same period last year, an official report showed on Thursday. Cambodia exported a total of US$7.2 billion worth of goods from January to April this year, down 4.9 percent, a report from the General Department of Customs and Excise pointed out.

The Kingdom's imports also saw a decrease, by 21.1 percent to US$7.9 billion, the report said, adding that this resulted in a trade deficit of US$692 million.

The U.S. remained the biggest market for Cambodia, importing US$2.4 billion worth of products, a year-on-year decline of 16.2 percent, followed by Vietnam which imported US$1.1 billion Cambodian products, up 20 percent.

The Kingdom's other main trade partners are Thailand, Japan, the European Union, and China.

Mr. Lim Heng, Vice President of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce said the decrease in exports was largely due to the economic slowdown in the European Union and the U.S., which are the two biggest markets for Cambodia-made products.

“The slowdown in economic growth in the EU and the U.S. caused by the war in Ukraine has affected the purchase orders of products from Cambodia,” he explained.

Cambodia's main exported products are garments, textiles, footwear, machinery and electrical equipment, bicycle, leather goods, grains, furniture, rubber, fruits, vegetables, pearls, and toys.

The garment, footwear, and travel goods industry are the largest foreign exchange earner for Cambodia. The sector consists of roughly 1,100 factories and branches, employing approximately 750,000 workers, most of them are female.