PHNOM PENH: Cambodia’s trade with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) member countries amounted to US$2.74 billion in January, a year-on-year increase of 21.2 percent, a report of the Ministry of Commerce showed on Friday.
The report said Cambodia’s total trade volume with other RCEP members accounted for 67.6 percent of the country’s total trade of US$4.05 billion in January this year.
Entering into force on Jan. 1, 2022, RCEP comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries including 10 ASEAN member states — 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 has given a big impetus to Cambodia’s exports, contributing to the economic development of the country, said H.E. Sok Siphana, Senior Minister in Charge of International and Multilateral Trade and Economic Relations.
“RCEP has given a big market access to Cambodia’s products and is the source of the country’s sustainable economic development in years to come,” he said.
Under the mega-regional pact, as much as 90 percent of the tariffs on goods traded among its signatories will be eliminated over the next 20 years.
In 2023, the two-way trade between Cambodia and RCEP countries decreased by 5.07 percent to US$29.45 billion.