Cambodia’s Main Imports by Top Supplier Countries

/ By Country / By

Home to 17 million people populating the southern part of the Indonesia Peninsula in Southeast Asia, the Kingdom of Cambodia imported US$19.3 billion worth of products from around the globe during 2020. That dollar amount reflects a -4.8% decrease from $20.3 billion in 2019.

This article presents a quick reference snapshot of Cambodia’s main imported products in 2020, categorized by dollar amount and major trading partners.

Cambodia shares land borders with Vietnam to its east, Thailand to its northwest and Laos to its north. Given its southwestern coastline with the Gulf of Thailand, Cambodia also has common maritime borders with Indonesia and Malaysia.

Data is organized by overall metrics then drill down to the most valuable Cambodian imports during 2020 for each of Cambodia’s top 10 supplier countries. Those leading trading partners accounted for 89.2% of total Cambodian import purchases. That percentage suggests a highly concentrated set of international suppliers.

Product categories shown summarize calculations at the two-digit Harmonized System code level. Two-digit codes enable higher-level insights and trends for Cambodian imports and each of the top supplier countries.

Cambodia’s Main Imports from China

In 2020, China’s exports to Cambodia amounted to $7.1 billion or 36.8% of overall Cambodian imports.

That dollar amount represents a -6.4% drop compared to 2019.

By value, the 15 major product categories listed below represent 80.6% of Cambodia’s imports from the mainland China.

  1. Knitted or crocheted fabric: $1.3 billion
  2. Electronic equipment: $742.9 million
  3. Man-made staple fibers: $694.6 million
  4. Machinery: $656.9 million
  5. Plastics: $389.7 million
  6. Cotton: $344.2 million
  7. Iron or steel products: $299.7 million
  8. Vehicles: $184.5 million
  9. Wood: $184.4 million
  10. Paper: $164.1 million
  11. Iron and steel: $162.7 million
  12. Coated textile fabric: $154.1 million
  13. Aluminum: $146.9 million
  14. Other chemical goods: $139.7 million
  15. Special woven/tufted fabric: $136.7 million

Fastest increases from 2019 to 2020 were for Cambodian imports from China under the miscellaneous chemical goods product category via a 39.9% gain in revenue, electronic equipment (up 21.2%), coated textile fabric (up 20.2%), plastics as a material (up 15.8%) and wood (up 11.3%).

Posting the severest declines among Cambodia’s top 15 imported products were iron and steel as materials (down -33.7%), cotton (down -32.8%), items made from iron or steel (down -17%), knitted or crocheted fabric (down -14.9%), machinery (down -13.4%) and man-made staple fibers (down -10.6%).

Cambodia’s Main Imports from Thailand

In 2020, Thailand’s exports to Cambodia amounted to $2.9 billion or 14.9% of overall Cambodian imports.

That dollar amount represents a -11.3% drop compared to 2019.

By value, the 15 major product categories listed below represent 81.9% of Cambodia’s imports from Thailand.

  1. Mineral fuels including oil: $688.1 million
  2. Vehicles: $487.7 million
  3. Beverages: $235.4 million
  4. Electronic equipment: $192.4 million
  5. Machinery: $189.5 million
  6. Plastics: $105.9 million
  7. Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $74.1 million
  8. Knitted or crocheted fabric: $72.7 million
  9. Fertilizers: $49.8 million
  10. Live animals: $48.9 million
  11. Perfumes, cosmetics: $42.4 million
  12. Paper: $42 million
  13. Other manufactured products: $41.5 million
  14. Food waste, animal fodder: $41.1 million
  15. Aluminum: $35.9 million

Fastest increases from 2019 to 2020 were for Cambodian imports from Thailand under the live animals product category via a 788.8% gain in revenue, miscellaneous manufactured products (up 28.1%) and aluminum (up 17%).

Posting the severest declines among Cambodia’s top 15 imported products were salt, sulphur, stone and cement (down -45.1%), vehicles (down -28.2%), knitted or crocheted fabric (down -16.6%), fertilizers: (down -13%), paper (down -11.4%) and mineral fuels including oil (down -10.7%).

Cambodia’s Main Imports from Vietnam

In 2020, Vietnam’s exports to Cambodia amounted to $2.7 billion or 13.8% of overall Cambodian imports.

That dollar amount represents a -2.5% drop compared to 2019.

By value, the 15 major product categories listed below represent 81.4% of Cambodia’s imports from Vietnam.

  1. Mineral fuels including oil: $571.4 million
  2. Knitted or crocheted fabric: $479.5 million
  3. Fertilizers: $123 million
  4. Iron and steel: $113.6 million
  5. Paper: $111.7 million
  6. Aluminum: $109.2 million
  7. Food waste, animal fodder: $105 million
  8. Plastics: $102.6 million
  9. Vehicles: $84.6 million
  10. Electronic equipment: $75.3 million
  11. Footwear: $72.6 million
  12. Cotton: $63.9 million
  13. Raw hides excluding furskins: $62.7 million
  14. Furniture, lighting, signs: $45.4 million
  15. Man-made staple fibers: $40.4 million

Fastest increases from 2019 to 2020 were for Cambodian imports from Vietnam under the food waste or animal fodder product category via a 41.1% gain in revenue, aluminum (up 34.6%), man-made staple fibers (up 34%), paper (up 12.3%) and plastics as a material (up 12%).

Posting the severest declines among Cambodia’s top 15 imported products were iron and steel as materials (down -28.5%), raw hides excluding furskins (down -18.4%), mineral fuels including oil (down -17.6%), electronic equipment: (down -14.9%) and footwear (down -11.5%).

Cambodia’s Main Imports from Singapore

In 2020, Singapore’s exports to Cambodia amounted to $985.9 million or 5.1% of overall Cambodian imports.

That dollar amount represents a 62.5% gain compared to 2019.

By value, the 15 major product categories listed below represent 97.4% of Cambodia’s imports from Singapore.

  1. Gems, precious metals: $505 million
  2. Mineral fuels including oil: $229.5 million
  3. Paper: $73.4 million
  4. Other food preparations: $31.3 million
  5. Vehicles: $23 million
  6. Machinery: $17.4 million
  7. Plastics: $14.7 million
  8. Perfumes, cosmetics: $13.6 million
  9. Tanning, dyeing extracts: $9.9 million
  10. Electronic equipment: $9.6 million
  11. Beverages: $8.6 million
  12. Organic chemicals: $8 million
  13. Cereal, milk preparations: $6.4 million
  14. Medical, technical equipment: $6 million
  15. Modified starches, enzymes: $4.2 million

Fastest increases from 2019 to 2020 were for Cambodian imports from Singapore under the gems and precious metals product category via a 1,954% gain in revenue, paper (up 138.6%), medical or technical equipment (up 97.3%), vehicles (up 88.6%), modified starches or enzymes (up 79.4%) and plastics as a material (up 75.8%).

Posting the severest declines among Cambodia’s top 15 imported products were machinery (down -83.2%), beverages (down -73.2%), electronic equipment (down -53.6%), cereal or milk preparations (down -30.6%), mineral fuels including oil (down -11.2%) and organic chemicals (down -10.4%).

Cambodia’s Main Imports from Taiwan

In 2020, Taiwan’s exports to Cambodia amounted to $754.5 million or 5.1% of overall Cambodian imports.

That dollar amount represents a -5.8% drop compared to 2019.

By value, the 15 major product categories listed below represent 87.6% of Cambodia’s imports from Taiwan.

  1. Knitted or crocheted fabric: $189 million
  2. Vehicles: $99.1 million
  3. Plastics: $88.5 million
  4. Man-made staple fibers: $77.7 million
  5. Rubber: $30.6 million
  6. Tobacco: $27.4 million
  7. Paper: $25.2 million
  8. Machinery: $23.3 million
  9. Coated textile fabric: $21.9 million
  10. Other manufactured products: $21.1 million
  11. Copper: $13.8 million
  12. Special woven/tufted fabric: $13.3 million
  13. Iron and steel: $12.2 million
  14. Cotton: $10.1 million
  15. Other chemical goods: $8.1 million

Fastest increases from 2019 to 2020 were for Cambodian imports from Taiwan under the coated textile fabric product category via a 99.1% gain in revenue, plastics as a material (up 42.5%), vehicles (up 37.8%), copper (up 30%) and miscellaneous chemical goods (up 10.9%).

Posting the severest declines among Cambodia’s top 15 imported products were machinery (down -32.4%), cotton (down -28.7%), miscellaneous manufactured products (down -28%), knitted or crocheted fabric (down -20.9%), rubber (down -17.1%) and man-made staple fibers (down -16.8%).

Cambodia’s Main Imports from Indonesia

In 2020, Indonesia’s exports to Cambodia amounted to $665.1 million or 3.4% of overall Cambodian imports.

That dollar amount represents a -13.9% drop compared to 2019.

By value, the 15 major product categories listed below represent 97% of Cambodia’s imports from Indonesia.

  1. Tobacco: $255.6 million
  2. Mineral fuels including oil: $186.9 million
  3. Vehicles: $55.1 million
  4. Cereal, milk preparations: $48 million
  5. Machinery: $18.8 million
  6. Paper: $16.6 million
  7. Pharmaceuticals: $14 million
  8. Ships, boats: $12.5 million
  9. Electronic equipment: $9.1 million
  10. Perfumes, cosmetics: $8.5 million
  11. Knitted or crocheted fabric: $7.3 million
  12. Rubber: $3.8 million
  13. Glass: $3.5 million
  14. Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $3 million
  15. Food waste, animal fodder: $2.9 million

Fastest increases from 2019 to 2020 were for Cambodian imports from Indonesia under the tobacco product category via a 256.7% gain in revenue, mineral fuels including oil (up 75.3%), vehicles (up 48.7%), cereal or milk preparations (up 37.2%), machinery (up 34.3%) and paper (up 24.8%).

Posting the severest declines among Cambodia’s top 15 imported products were food waste or animal fodder (down -51.9%), salt, sulphur, stone and cement (down -35.3%) and glass (down -20.5%).

Cambodia’s Main Imports from Japan

In 2020, Japan’s exports to Cambodia amounted to $652 million or 3.4% of overall Cambodian imports.

That dollar amount represents a -26.6% drop compared to 2019.

By value, the 15 major product categories listed below represent 92% of Cambodia’s imports from Japan.

  1. Vehicles: $361.1 million
  2. Machinery: $83.3 million
  3. Electronic equipment: $43.2 million
  4. Plastics: $25 million
  5. Ceramic products: $18.6 million
  6. Man-made staple fibers: $11.6 million
  7. Medical, technical equipment: $9.3 million
  8. Other textiles, worn clothing: $8.5 million
  9. Raw hides excluding furskins: $7.2 million
  10. Knitted or crocheted fabric: $6.6 million
  11. Iron or steel products: $6.5 million
  12. Rubber: $6.1 million
  13. Furniture, lighting, signs: $4.9 million
  14. Iron and steel: $4.3 million
  15. Other manufactured products: $3.7 million

Fastest increases from 2019 to 2020 were for Cambodian imports from Japan under the items made from iron or steel product category via a 32.2% gain in revenue, ceramic products (up 31.8%), iron and steel as materials (up 24.7%), furniture, lighting and signs (up 18%), machinery (up 12.2%) then medical or technical equipment (up 9.8%).

Posting the severest declines among Cambodia’s top 15 imported products were vehicles (down -39.3%), man-made staple fibers (down -31.3%), miscellaneous manufactured products (down -24.2%), miscellaneous textiles including worn clothing (down -23.2%), knitted or crocheted fabric (down -14.0%) and plastics as a material (down -12.7%).

Cambodia’s Main Imports from Korea

In 2020, South Korea’s exports to Cambodia amounted to $549.4 million or 2.8% of overall Cambodian imports.

That dollar amount represents a -18.4% drop compared to 2019.

By value, the 15 major product categories listed below represent 91.1% of Cambodia’s imports from South Korea.

  1. Vehicles: $172.5 million
  2. Beverages: $64.6 million
  3. Aluminum: $60.3 million
  4. Knitted or crocheted fabric: $41.8 million
  5. Raw hides excluding furskins: $32.1 million
  6. Other textiles, worn clothing: $26.3 million
  7. Electronic equipment: $24.9 million
  8. Machinery: $18.3 million
  9. Plastics: $12.6 million
  10. Pharmaceuticals: $12.4 million
  11. Man-made staple fibers: $10.5 million
  12. Iron or steel products: $6.7 million
  13. Rubber: $6.4 million
  14. Coated textile fabric: $5.7 million
  15. Other base metal goods: $5.4 million

Fastest increases from 2019 to 2020 were for Cambodian imports from South Korea under the beverages product category via a 55.3% gain in revenue, electronic equipment (up 45.1%), pharmaceuticals (up 20.4%) and items made from iron or steel (up 15.4%).

Posting the severest declines among Cambodia’s top 15 imported products were man-made staple fibers (down -45.8%), vehicles (down -42%), coated textile fabric (down -36.6%), miscellaneous base metal goods (down -26.1%), miscellaneous textiles including worn clothing (down -20.4%) and machinery (down -12.8%).

Cambodia’s Main Imports from Switzerland

In 2020, Switzerland’s exports to Cambodia amounted to $544.7 million or 2.8% of overall Cambodian imports.

That dollar amount represents a 2,342% gain compared to 2019.

By value, the 15 major product categories listed below represent 99.9% of Cambodia’s imports from Switzerland.

  1. Gems, precious metals: $528.3 million
  2. Pharmaceuticals: $6.5 million
  3. Electronic equipment: $3.5 million
  4. Tobacco: $2 million
  5. Machinery: $1.1 million
  6. Medical, technical equipment: $952,000
  7. Other chemical goods: $659,000
  8. Clocks, watches: $352,000
  9. Perfumes, cosmetics: $236,000
  10. Other manufactured products: $184,000
  11. Man-made staple fibers: $177,000
  12. Felt, yarn, twine, cordage: $124,000
  13. Iron or steel products: $116,000
  14. Dairy, eggs, honey: $62,000
  15. Paper: $53,000

Fastest increases from 2019 to 2020 were for Cambodian imports from Switzerland under the gems and precious metals product category via a 123,340% gain in revenue, miscellaneous manufactured products (up 1,944%), items made from iron or steel (up 1,350%), miscellaneous chemical goods (up 998.3%), dairy, eggs and honey (up 264.7%) then electronic equipment (up 223.2%).

Posting the severest declines among Cambodia’s top 15 imported products were clocks and watches (down -91.7%), tobacco (down -80.5%), machinery (down -33.9%) then perfumes and cosmetics (down -10.9%).

Cambodia’s Main Imports from Hong Kong

In 2020, Hong Kong’s exports to Cambodia amounted to $446.6 million or 2.3% of overall Cambodian imports.

That dollar amount represents a -17.6% drop compared to 2019.

By value, the 15 major product categories listed below represent 88.5% of Cambodia’s imports from Hong Kong.

  1. Knitted or crocheted fabric: $140 million
  2. Plastics: $42.9 million
  3. Man-made staple fibers: $36.1 million
  4. Special woven/tufted fabric: $26.5 million
  5. Paper: $23 million
  6. Aluminum: $19.1 million
  7. Other manufactured products: $18.6 million
  8. Cotton: $12.7 million
  9. Clothing (not knit or crochet): $12.1 million
  10. Raw hides excluding furskins: $11.9 million
  11. Rubber: $11.7 million
  12. Other base metal goods: $11.4 million
  13. Gems, precious metals: $10.7 million
  14. Machinery: $9.4 million
  15. Electronic equipment: $9.1 million

Fastest increases from 2019 to 2020 were for Cambodian imports from Hong Kong under the gems and precious metals product category via a 507.9% gain in revenue then unknitted and non-crocheted clothing (up 48.6%).

Posting the severest declines among Cambodia’s top 15 imported products were cotton (down -51.1%), machinery (down -40.1%), special woven or tufted fabric (down -30.5%), knitted or crocheted fabric (down -29.5%), miscellaneous manufactured products (down -15.8%) and electronic equipment (down -12.3%).

See also

More great research: World’s Top 100 Imported Consumer Products, China’s Top 100 Imported Consumer Products, Vietnam’s Top 100 Imported Consumer Products

References

Independent insights and analysis presented in this article are based on researched facts and statistics sourced from the following educational sources.

International Trade Centre, Trade Map.

Wikipedia, Cambodia, Borders of Cambodia

World’s Top Exports, Import News.

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