According to the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE),, the amount of goods traded between Cambodia and Indonesia in 2022 was US$948.533 million, up 48.27% from the previous year. Cambodian imports made up 96.12% of the total, up 1.08 percentage points from the previous year.
In 2022, Cambodia exported $36.839 million worth of goods to Indonesia and imported $911.694 million worth of goods from Indonesia. These numbers were up 15.9% and 49.96% from the previous year, respectively. This increased the trade deficit between the Kingdom and Indonesia by 51.8%, from $576.167 million in 2021 to $874.854 million in 2022.
The amount of goods traded between Cambodia and Indonesia in just one month was $118.29 million. This is up 63.8% from $72.20 million in December 2021 and up 102.9% from $58.30 million in November 2022.
The Kingdom’s exports were just over $3.5 million, up 33% from the previous year but down 12% from the previous month. Imports, on the other hand, were nearly $114.8 million, up 65% from the previous year and up 113% month-on-month.
Last year, December was the best month for both two-way trade and Cambodian exports to Indonesia, with May coming in second with $96.20 million and $94.60 million, respectively. September and July were the best months for imports, with $5.19 million and $4.16 million, respectively, according to GDCE statistics.
Foreign investors from Indonesia and other countries have been encouraged by the kingdom’s FTAs, especially its bilateral agreements with China and South Korea and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
As a developing country with limited resources, Cambodia needs to import raw materials and equipment to fulfill local demand, including the manufacture and processing of export goods, thus a trade deficit is not necessarily bad news in this scenario.
Source: The Star
