Cambodia: Singapore goods flood Cambodian shores despite supply chain disruptions

The Phnom Penh Post via Asia News network

November 24, 2021

Bilateral trade between Cambodia and Singapore totaled $4.37 billion in the first 10 months of 2021, a 51.27% year-on-year surge from $2.89 billion, as reported by the Ministry of Commerce, despite COVID-related disruptions to manufacturing supply chains.

In the January-October period, Cambodian exports to Singapore amounted to more than $112 million, marking a 95.47% year-on-year dip from $2.48 billion, and imports were to the tune of $4.26 billion, surging by 938.12% year-on-year from over $410 million.

Ministry spokesman Pen Sovicheat told The Post that bilateral trade flows are generally volatile, and that imports from Singapore had risen sharply due to burgeoning demand for key commodities such as fuel, asphalt concrete (AC), industrial chemicals, dairy products, electronics, beer and other beverages.

“The underlying causes are not serious, as normal trading is associated with market prices. When we sell better we gain more, and when sales don’t do very well we gain less, we cannot have it all, everything has repercussions, every change results in burdens,” he said.

Cambodia Chamber of Commerce vice president Lim Heng told The Post that trade with Singapore had been largely driven by an uptick in Singaporean investors in the Kingdom, combined with a double taxation agreement between the two countries.

He explained that Cambodia’s trade deficit with Singapore was in part due to the difference in the composition of traded goods in either direction, noting that the bulk of the Kingdom’s exports were agricultural products with relatively low value per tonnage.

On the other hand, Singapore is a small country that has seen remarkable technological progress, especially in the electrical and electronics industry — characterized by expensive goods, a considerable chunk of which winds up on Cambodian shores, he said.

“The Singaporean market is not big, it’s predominantly a country for transit goods, so I reckon that there wouldn’t be that many exports to Singapore, the population is small and most of our products are agricultural,” Heng said.

He added that many Singaporean companies have entered the Cambodian market, mostly in the construction, textile, garment, agricultural and hotel sectors.