Swedish Trade Deal Pursued By Cambodia

on Jan, 20 2017

Cambodia-Sweden-rice-trade-featured-image — Sweden does not have the weather to grow enough rice for its own needs, so a trade deal on importing Cambodian milled rice would be a good idea according to Cambodian Chamber of Commerce director-general Ngoun Meng Tech.

Cambodia is pushing Sweden to increase imports of its milled rice, with Prime Minister Hun Sen asking his Swedish counterpart Stefan Lofven at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, yesterday to consider further cooperation in trade and investment.

“We have many kinds of agricultural products,” said Ministry of Commerce spokeswoman Seoung Sophary. “The increasing relationship with Sweden will let Cambodia expand its markets because diplomatic ties always come first. Trade ties will follow.” Ngoun Meng Tech, director-general of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the move, noting “Sweden’s weather meant it could not plant rice to meet its needs”. According to the Swedish National Board of Trade, Cambodia’s exports to the Nordic country – mainly clothing and shoes – were worth about $54 million in the first nine months of 2016. Meanwhile, its imports of engineering products, machinery and equipment, cardboard, and paper, totaled around $3 million.

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