Exports Increase 45.9% in First Six Months
Cambodian exports increased 45.9 percent to $2.15 billion in the first six months of the year compared to the same period in 2010, according to figures released by the Ministry of Commerce yesterday. Of the total value of exports, 80 percent, or $1.74 billion, were garments, while $123.1 million worth of shoes was also exported in the same period, an increase of 76.7 percent compared to the first six months in 2010. The steepest rises in exports were to the European Union and Japan, both of which have granted duty-free access for Cambodian garments. Garment exports to the EU in the first six months increased 58.7 percent to $436.9 million. And garment exports to Japan nearly doubled from $27.2 million in the first six months of 2010, to $51.3 million during the same period this year. Exports to the US, Cambodia’s largest market for garments, increased 18.7 percent to $961.4 million between Januarty and June. Total exports to the rest of the world, excluding Canada, the EU and Japan, increased 191.32 percent to $309.85 million… According to figures from the Ministry of Commerce, exports to Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore rose 94.9 percent to $134.93 million in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year. Imports from the five countries to Cambodia increased 63.7 percent to $1.53 billion.
