Year over year, the overall value of Cambodian exports flatlined via a -0.8% reduction from $17.7 billion in international sales for 2020.
Cambodia’s Major Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 86.3% of products exported from Cambodia were bought by importers in: United States of America (42.6% of Cambodia’s global total), mainland China (8.6%), Japan (6.2%), Canada (5.4%), Germany (5%), United Kingdom (4.2%), Belgium (2.9%), Vietnam (also 2.9%), Netherlands (2.5%), Thailand (2.1%), Spain (1.94%) and France (1.91%).
From a continental perspective, almost half (48.6%) of Cambodia’s exports by value were delivered to North American countries while 26% were sold to importers also in Asia. Cambodia shipped another 23.1% worth of goods to Europe.
Smaller percentages went to Oceania (1.3%) mostly Australia and New Zealand, Latin America (0.6%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Africa (0.5%).
Given Cambodia’s population of 15.8 million people, its total $17.6 billion in 2021 exports translates to roughly $1,100 for every resident in the southeastern Asian country. That dollar metric is about the same as the per capita dollar amount one year earlier during 2020.
Cambodia’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Cambodian global shipments during 2021. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Cambodia.
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: US$5.8 billion (33.1% of total exports)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $2.2 billion (12.5%)
- Leather/animal gut articles: $1.6 billion (9%)
- Footwear: $1.4 billion (7.9%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $1.1 billion (6.2%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: $872.6 million (5%)
- Vehicles : $690 million (3.9%)
- Furskins, artificial fur: $474.9 million (2.7%)
- Cereals: $423.7 million (2.4%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: $422.1 million (2.4%)
Cambodia’s top 10 exports accounted for 85.1% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Furskins and artificial fur represents the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 137.4% from 2020 to 2021.
In second place for improving export sales were articles made from leather or animal gut, via a 56.8% advance.
Cambodia’s shipments of rubber both as materials and items made from rubber posted the third-fastest gain in value up by 49.7%.
The leading decliner among Cambodia’s top 10 export categories was cereals, thanks to a -10.1% year-over-year drop. The cereals product category was dragged down by lower international revenues from exported Cambodian rice.
At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, unwrought gold represents Cambodia’s most valuable exported good generating 17% of total Cambodian export sales.
In second place were knitted or crocheted jerseys and pullovers (6.9%) trailed by cases, handbags and wallets (5.5%), knitted or crocheted women’s clothing (also 5.5%), knitted or crocheted t-shirts and vests (4.4%), unknitted and non-crocheted women’s clothing (also 4.4%), bicycles and other non-motorized cycles (3%), rice (2.7%), knitted or crocheted men’s suits or trousers (2.6%), then knitted or crocheted women’s underwear and pajamas (also 2.6%).
Products Creating Cambodia’s Best Trade Surpluses
The following types of Cambodian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: US$5.8 billion (Up by 12.3% since 2020)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $2.1 billion (Down by -5.5%)
- Leather/animal gut articles: $1.6 billion (Up by 57.2%)
- Footwear: $1.2 billion (Up by 21.4%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: $735.5 million (Up by 50%)
- Cereals: $331.5 million (Down by -16%)
- Fruits, nuts: $174.1 million (Up by 44.5%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: $154 million (Up by 61.6%)
- Miscellaneous textiles, worn clothing: $82.7 million (Up by 71.3%)
- Headgear: $49.7 million (Up by 71.2%)
Cambodia has highly positive net exports in the international trade of apparel. In turn, these cashflows indicate Cambodia’s strong competitive advantages under the clothing and accessories product categories.
Products Causing Cambodia’s Largest Trade Deficits
Cambodia incurred an overall -$11.1 billion trade deficit in 2021. That amount of red ink represents a 604.9% expansion from Cambodia’s -$1.6 billion deficit one year earlier for 2020.
Below are exports from Cambodia that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Cambodia’s goods trail Cambodian importer spending on foreign products.
- Gems, precious metals: -US$5.8 billion (Reversing a $1.95 billon surplus in 2020)
- Knit or crochet fabric: -$2.9 billion (Up by 23.9% from 2020)
- Mineral fuels including oil: -$2.4 billion (Up by 25.1%)
- Vehicles: -$1.3 billion (Up by 11.5%)
- Machinery including computers: -$1.2 billion (Up by 11.6%)
- Manmade staple fibers: -$1.1 billion (Up by 25.1%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$753.7 million (Up by 42.8%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$663.9 million (Up by 188.7%)
- Paper, paper items: -$607.3 million (Up by 19.2%)
- Cotton: -$527.2 million (Up by 19.4%)
Cambodia has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for gold and, to a lesser extent, diamonds and jewelry, under the gems and precious metals product category.
Cambodian Export Companies
Not one Cambodian corporation ranks among companies showcased on the Forbes Global 2000.
Wikipedia lists exports-related companies from Cambodia. Selected examples are shown below.
- Cambrew Brewery (alcoholic beverages)
- Comin Khmere (construction & materials)
- Kampot Cement (construction resources)
- Kingdom Breweries (alcoholic beverages)
- Sokimex (oil, gas)
- The Royal Group (conglomerate)
In macroeconomic terms, Cambodia’s total exported goods represent 22.3% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2021 ($78.7 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 22.3% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2021 compares to 23.8% for 2020. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Cambodia’s total economic performance, albeit based on a relatively short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Cambodia’s unemployment rate averaged 0.6% in 2021, down from an average 0.31% for 2020 according to Trading Economics.
Cambodia’s capital city is Phnom Penh, nicknamed the “Pearl of Asia” and “The Charming City”.
See also China’s Top 10 Imports, Japan’s Top Trading Partners, Canada’s Top Trading Partners, Vietnam’s Top 10 Exports and Thailand’s Top Trading Partners
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Country Profiles. Accessed on August 4, 2022
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on August 4, 2022
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity)
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 4, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 4, 2022
Wikipedia, Cambodia. Accessed on August 4, 2022
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on August 4, 2022
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Cambodia. Accessed on August 4, 2022
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on August 4, 2022
