The 16th Cambodian & Import-Export Goods Exhibition, an annual event organized by the Ministry of Commerce since 2005, recently concluded – an opportunity for local entrepreneurs to showcase their potential products to customers and find business partners.
The four-day expo was an exceptional opportunity held from December 15 to 18 at the Koh Pich Convention and Exhibition Center in Phnom Penh, with 136 local producers given the chance to display their products. Products on the display at the exhibition ranged from well-known GI products of Kampot pepper, Kampong Speu Palm Sugar, Koh Trong pomelo, and Mondulkiri wild honey to handicraft goods and various other products.
According to the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Commerce, Kem Sithan, the major annual international exhibition aimed to promote trade and investment activities in Cambodia and boost trade relations between Cambodia and the international community.
Not only were local entrepreneurs able to showcase products to local people, but opportunities for Cambodian businessmen and foreigners to meet and discuss trade and investment in Cambodia were also available.
Heng Channy, chairwoman of the Heng Channy Angkor Meas, a Battambang province-based enterprise that produces flatted rice (ambok), dried fish, banana crisp, pepper, and sesame, said the exhibition was a great opportunity for them to promote their products to people and it brought high hopes that local products would be widely supported and consumed.
Srov Phavy, deputy president of the Mondulkiri Wild Bee Conservation Association, produces Mondulkiri wild honey. She said local people and foreigners visited her stall at the expo to try GI wild honey products, with more customers asking for wild honey products. She added that many foreigners had asked for future business partnerships.
The expo was successful in attracting foreign companies from 17 countries, including Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, China, South Korea, Pakistan, India, Turkey, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, France, and Germany, according to the ministry.
The Ministry of Commerce also organized important accompanying events such as seminars on trade promotion, business and investment forums, MoU signing ceremonies, business matching events, and concerts.
The exhibition aimed to promote and increase economic activities in the country while boosting domestic production. Moreover, it offered local producers the chance to modernize their production in terms of packaging, quality, and quantity, responding to market demand and competing with imported products.
Overall, the exhibition proved to be a success, allowing entrepreneurs to showcase their products, helping establish business partnerships, and promoting trade in the country.
