Cambodia: Economic Performance and Reform Update
The Cambodian economy has continued its high growth path as real GDP expanded by 6.9 percent in 2011 and is expected to grow by 6.6 percent in 2012, report from world bank said this week. Cambodia has been one of the fastest growing countries in the world over the past ten years, experiencing average annual growth of over 8 percent since 2000. The economy’s performance in 2011 was strong despite destructive floods hitting the agricultural sector during the last quarter. Growth came in higher than projected as a result of a recovery in the damaged agricultural sector (which grew by 3.3 percent in 2011 compared with an earlier forecast of 1.5 percent) and the robust expansion of exports, private investment, and consumption. The risks of an impact of an economic slowdown in the US and EU, the two largest destinations of Cambodia’s key garment and textile exports, have not so far materialized: merchandise exports in 2011 jumped by 36 percent, with exports of garments and textiles up 32 percent and reaching US$4 billion. Garment exports appear to have benefitted from a shift of labor intensive industries from China to lower wage cost countries like Cambodia. Cambodia experienced an 18 percent increase in the number of garment factories in 2011. Milled rice exports expanded rapidly in 2011, recording annual of growth of 250 percent and reaching 180,000 tons last year. Despite the floods, rice production is anticipated to increase on the back of increased yields in both wet and dry season production and increased planted-areas. … The new rankings also show that Cambodia is among the fastest reformers in the in the world…
