Cambodia’s total imports have declined in recent years, which the Ministry of Economy and Finance attributes to the development of local production capabilities and popularity of domestic goods. According to data released by a ministry report on Monday, in the first six months of this year, imports grew by only eight percent, a sharp drop from the 22 percent for the corresponding period last year.
 

“Import slowdown has been across almost all the major product categories, with the sole exception of petroleum products. In a few cases such as cement, food and beverages, and electronics, the slower import growth seems to be structural as the country is now producing these products domestically thereby substituting imports by local production,” said the ministry. “Cement is an interesting case in point. Until recently, cement was almost wholly imported but with the establishment of a few cement factories in the country part of the cement consumption is now met by domestic production. More cement factories are to be built in the coming years and this should further reduce imports,” added the report.
 

According to the data, the volume of cement imports drastically declined by 29 percent in the first half of this year, on top of a 3.5 percent decline last year. Last year, domestic conglomerate Chip Mong Group reached a partnership agreement with China’s CITIC Heavy Industries Co. to build a $262 million cement plant in Kampot province, with construction slated to start this year while Thailand’s largest industrial conglomerate and the majority shareholder in Kampot Cement, Siam Cement Group, invested $120 million into a the second production line, which had an annual production capacity of 900,000 tons last year.

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