the Kunming event is one of the world's largest trade fares, and the Cambodian government says it views it as an important opportunity to boost exports

Cambodia takes goods to Chinese trade fair
Written by MAY KUNMAKARA AND NATHAN GREEN
Tuesday, 09 June 2009

COMMERCE Ministry officials have travelled to Kunming, China, hoping
to ink export agreements on everything from agricultural goods to
garments, government sources said.

Held from Saturday until Wednesday, the Kunming event is one of the
world's largest trade fares, and the Cambodian government says it
views it as an important opportunity to boost exports.

"We have five stands to show our products and services, and we have
had a lot of success generating business from this fair in the past,"
said Sok Darith, deputy director of the Trade Promotion Department.

The exhibition takes place every year and features products from
around the world.
"The exhibition is a part of a trade effort to attract Chinese
investors to our country - that is good for us. The government is
working hard to improve the quality of our products to appeal to the
international market," said Nguon Meng Tech, director general at the
Cambodia Chamber of Commerce.

He said the Kingdom's entrepreneurs still need to build knowledge and
technology to tap international markets.
"So far, Chinese products are struggling to compete with imported
goods from regional competitors like Vietnam and
Thailand," he said. "I hope that we will gain more market share in
China because we are working very hard to upgrade the quality of our
products and promote agricultural products as well."

The Ministry of Commerce‘s 2008 report stated that Cambodia exported
$4 billion in goods worldwide last year.


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We have had a lot of success generating business from this fair in the
past.

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The Economist Intelligence Unit said in its April outlook for Cambodia
that total exports of goods and services were forecast to fall 8.8
percent this year.

"Merchandise exports will contract in 2009, mainly owing to the poor
outlook for overseas sales of garments, which account for over 70
percent of total export revenue," it said.

Mona Tep, director of the Garment Industry Productivity Centre (GIPC),
said the delegation was looking for trade and investment
opportunities, but that the priority was to raise the profile of the
garment sector and to better understand the needs of buyers "to
determine strategic actions for the industry to take".

The delegation is due back on Thursday and was expected to report its
findings at a GIPC-organised garment industry conference Friday.

Roger Tan, secretary general of the Garment Manufacturers Association
of Cambodia (GMAC), said the delegation would push Cambodia's
involvement in the International Labour Organisation's Better
Factories initiative, which calls for more orders in exchange for
better conditions in factories.

But Tan said the benefits of the initiative had failed to materialise.
"Better Factories is supposed to be the brainchild of buyers who want
compliance and who want core standards, but then their business is
going to countries like Bangladesh, India and Pakistan and Vietnam,
which don't have this Better Factories program," he said.
.

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