PHNOM PENH, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has recorded a modest growth of its exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU) in January, said a Ministry of Commerce report on Thursday.
The report showed that the Southeast Asian country exported products worth 480 million U.S. dollars to its fellow ASEAN member states in January this year, up 8 percent compared to the same month last year.
Meanwhile, the kingdom shipped goods worth 456.7 million dollars to the EU market, up 4 percent compared to the same month last year, the report added.
The ASEAN market accounted for 16 percent and the EU market represented 15.2 percent of the kingdom's total export volume of 3 billion dollars in January this year, the report said.
Main goods Cambodia exports include apparel, textiles, shoes, travel goods, bags, bicycles, car tires, and some electronic devices as well as potential agricultural produce such as milled rice, cashew nuts, cassava starch, and bananas.
Thong Mengdavid, deputy director at the China-ASEAN Studies Center of the Cambodia University of Technology and Science, said the growth is an encouraging signal that the country is beginning to diversify beyond its traditional reliance on the United States market.
"This reflects improving regional integration, recovering European demand, and Cambodia's gradual move into more industrial and higher value-added manufacturing," he told Xinhua. ■