Cambodia exported more than 7.3 million tonnes of agricultural products between January and November 2023, generating nearly US$4.2 billion in revenue, according to the latest report from Cambodia**. In this notable achievement, China continues to maintain its position as the largest export market for Cambodia's fresh fruits.
Data released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Cambodia shows this achievement in detail. In the first 11 months of the year, Cambodia exported 260,000 tonnes of fresh bananas, most of which went to China, with the remainder going mainly to Vietnam and Japan. In addition, the export volume of fresh longan from Cambodia reached 130,000 tons, and the main export destinations include China, Thailand, Vietnam and European countries.
In the food sector, Cambodia exported a total of 600,000 tonnes of milled rice and 2.4 million tonnes of rice between January and November 2023. These exports brought 5$1.5 billion and 8$400 million in revenue.
Although the total export volume of this year decreased slightly compared to the same period in 2022, analysts believe that this is mainly due to the impact of the current global economic downturn on the international **, which has led to a decrease in Cambodia's agricultural export orders.
The history of Cambodian agricultural products exported to the Chinese market can be traced back to May 2019, when Cambodian bananas entered the Chinese market for the first time. Subsequently, in October 2022, Cambodian fresh longan began to be exported to China, and the demand for this product in the Chinese market continued to grow.
A local banana exporter said that about 95% of Cambodia's bananas are currently exported to China. He is optimistic about the export outlook for the end of 2023 to the beginning of 2024.
Agriculture is one of the four pillars of Cambodia's economy, accounting for 22% of GDP. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in 2022, Cambodia's total exports of agricultural products amounted to 49$1 billion, compared to 49 in 2021$6.7 billion was a slight decline.