However, Vietnam reported a trade deficit of US$354.4 million with Cambodia in the reviewed period.
One of the reasons behind the trade deficit was increases in import turnover of six main products from Cambodia compared to the same period last year, with the imports of cashew nut and rubber witnessing the highest rises.
Vietnam spent almost US$1.83 billion on importing cashew nuts from Cambodia in the first eight months, a 7.1-fold hike year-on-year. Meanwhile, Vietnam’s rubber imports from the neighbouring country were 5.3 times higher than the figure of the same period last year, reaching US$821.8 million.
Vietnam’s registered investment in Cambodia hit over US$2.85 billion, mainly in agriculture, including cashew and rubber planting.
Vietnamese businesses have invested in Cambodia to take advantage of cheap labour costs and favourable conditions in terms of land, climate and incentives, and then exported their products back to Vietnam.
To balance the trade value with Cambodia, Vietnam needs to promote processing to improve the added value of export goods, increase yields and quality of cashew and rubber, and seek to expand export markets for cashew nuts and rubber products.
Attention should also be paid to strictly controlling the import of these goods to ensure origin rules, and enhancing inspection of commodities exported to Vietnam through Cambodia.
