Cambodia's Imbalanced Trades With Vietnam and Thailand

Agri. & Commodities
Study raises concerns about Cambodia farm trade gap

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua): A recent study by the Royal Academy of Cambodia has raised concerns about the trade imbalance in fruits and vegetable between Cambodia and its neighbors, the Cambodia Daily newspaper said Thursday.

According to the September report, there was a nearly 400-fold trade imbalance in fruits and vegetables passing through international gateways at Poipet on the Thai border and Trapang Plong on the Vietnamese border in 2004 and 2005, and the trend is continuing.

The study further contended that the trade deficit has led to a loss of Cambodian agricultural jobs, as well as low moral among Cambodia's farmers, most of who are small-scale and cannot compete in such an environment.

Around 113 million U.S. dollars in fruits and vegetables were imported from Thailand in 2005, versus a mere 296,159 U.S. dollars exported from Cambodia to Thailand, the study concluded.

In Banteay Meanchey province alone, 772 small and mid-size Cambodian firms are currently importing agricultural goods into Cambodia, the report said.