Cambodia-Korea FTA to come into force from Dec 1

Cambodia can export goods at zero tariffs immediately after the agreement comes into force on 92.37 per cent of the total tariff line, Sorasak said.

He said the workshop was organised by the Cambodian ministry of commerce and the embassy of South Korea to promote exports and maximise the benefits of implementing the CKFTA.

Participants included officials from the ministry, the South Korean embassy in Cambodia, the private sector, around 200 representatives from the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce Textile, Apparel, Footwear and Travel Goods Association in Cambodia and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.

The agreement is expected to boost Cambodia’s exports to South Korea in garments and textiles, footwear, bags, spare parts, electronics, rubber and agricultural products, according to Cambodian media reports.

Cambodia had exported apparel worth $187.650 million in 2019 to South Korea, but the value of exports declined to $169.716 million in 2020 due to the COVID-19 disruption, according to Fibre2Fashion’s market insight tool TexPro.

Bilateral trade between both sides reached $920 million in the first ten months this year, a year-on-year increase of 16.3 per cent, according to a report from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). Cambodia exported goods worth $341 million to South Korea, an increase of 20.7 per cent.

As per TexPro, South Korea is a very minor market for Cambodia’s apparel exports and ranks 13th in terms of apparel exports from Cambodia. South Korea accounted for mere 1.51 per cent ($167.151 million) out of Cambodia’s total apparel exports of $11.102 billion in 2021.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)