Arya News - Thailand remains Cambodia’s fifth-largest trading partner, after China, the US, Vietnam and Japan. According to the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE), total January-June trade amounted to $1.37 billion, a 37.5% decline from the $2.19 billion recorded in the same period of 2025.
PHNOM PENH – The total value of bilateral trade between Cambodia and Thailand in the first half of the year totalled nearly $1.4 billion, down almost 40% compared to the same period last year. Business insiders attribute the drop to a wide-spread public boycott of Thai goods.
Thailand remains Cambodia’s fifth-largest trading partner, after China, the US, Vietnam and Japan.
According to the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE), total January-June trade amounted to $1.37 billion, a 37.5% decline from the $2.19 billion recorded in the same period of 2025.
Thai imports valued at $1.01 billion, down 41.9%, while exports to the neighbouring Kingdom were $357.21 million, a decline of just 20.3%. This meant Cambodia recorded a trade deficit of approximately $656.79 million.
Lim Heng, vice-president of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC), told The Post on July 13 that last year’s Thai aggression against Cambodian sovereignty, which prompted Cambodian consumers to boycott Thai products, was the primary reason for the sharp decline in bilateral trade.
He added that alongside the boycott, Cambodia’s domestic manufacturing capacity has expanded rapidly.
Most current Thai imports, he explained, consist of raw materials, components and intermediate goods used by factories and other investors operating in Cambodia, many of which have been imported for years.
“Some products that Cambodia previously imported from Thailand are now being manufactured domestically by Cambodian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Other products that were once sourced from Thailand have been replaced with imports from countries such as Vietnam, China and South Korea,” he said.
Chea Chandara, president of the logistics Supply Chain & Brokers Business Association in Cambodia, said last year’s armed conflicts, which he said were initiated by Thailand, have encouraged Cambodian consumers to reduce or completely halt the use of Thai gods.
He warned that trade between the two countries will continue to decline if Thailand maintains its border closures.
He noted that while there is currently no overland cargo transport between Cambodia and Thailand, goods can still be shipped via Laos or transported by sea or air.
“I believe the continued expansion of Cambodia’s domestic manufacturing capacity, together with growing public support for locally made products, will mean that imports of Thai goods into Cambodia will not return to previous levels,” he said.
According to the GDCE, total Cambodia–Thailand trade in 2025 reached $3.66 billion, down 14.9% from $4.29 billion in 2024.
Thai imports totalled $2.92 billion, a 15% decline, while Cambodian exports reached $732.85 million, down 14.1%.
In 2025, the Thai military launched two offensives against Cambodia, the first from July 24–28 and the second from December 7–28.