Tuesday, 22 January 2008

Cambodia, Viet Nam target $2.3 billion in bilateral trade by 2010

(21-01-2008)

AN GIANG — Cambodia and Viet Nam are expected to achieve bilateral trade worth US$2.3 billion annually by 2010, according to reports released at the border-trade meeting held in An Giang Province last week.

In the first 11 months of 2007, trade turnover between Viet Nam and Cambodia amounted to $1.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 30 per cent.

Viet Nam attained export turnover of $896 million with Cambodia while imports from the neighbouring country amounted to $180 million.

A report from the Viet Nam Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Asia-Pacific Department said trade between the two countries rose from $184 million in 2001 to $940 million in 2006.

Cambodia is currently the 16th biggest overseas market for Vietnamese goods while Viet Nam is the third largest buyer for Cambodian exports, behind Thailand and China.

Viet Nam enjoys a trade surplus over Cambodia. Major exports from Viet Nam include textiles and garments, plastics, computers, electronics and components, vegetables and fruits, seafood and electrical home appliances. Imports from Cambodia include tobacco materials, rubber, wood products and cloth.

The report said border-trade between the two countries has risen by 30 per cent annually during the past five years.

Trade between the two countries operates through border gates in ten Vietnamese border provinces. Up to 95 per cent of that trade is conducted in the provinces of An Giang and Tay Ninh. In 2006, trade in the Mekong province of An Giang amounted to $600 million, accounting for 87 per cent of border trade between Viet Nam and Cambodia.

The 10 Vietnamese provinces bordering Cambodia have eight border economic zones that cover 6,677sq.m, representing 2.7 per cent of the total area of these provinces.

These border economic zones contribute 34 per cent of the total import taxes and 10.2 per cent of total export taxes of the 23 border economic zones across the country.

— VNS

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