Cambodia’s fuel needs increased in 2012

Cambodia spent more than $1.6 billion importing fuel oil and petrol last year, a figure 14.3 per cent higher than for 2011, the Ministry of Commerce said yesterday. The money spent on importing 1.6 million tonnes of petrol and fuel oil – 100,000 tonnes more than in 2011 – reflects increased domestic consumption by the Kingdom’s industry sectors. … Another reason is the increase in domestic transport, especially in the services sector, said Meng Saktheara, director general of the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy. “The transport sector increased a lot last year, as you can see from the traffic congestion,” Meng Saktheara said. … Chan Sophal said that the country’s recorded data on oil imports was still low compared to its actual consumption. “A lot of oil is also smuggled, which the data does not record,” he said. Cambodia had a trade deficit of $2.65 billion last year, according to the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy data. The International Monetary Fund’s projection for Cambodia’s GDP growth this year is 6.7 per cent.

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