PHNOM PENH, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Planes carrying cargos subsequently landed in Cambodia on Friday, a day before the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement enters into force, which is expected to boost air cargo growth in a long term, an airport's cargo supervisor said.
Ros Rotha, cargo supervisor at Phnom Penh International Airport, said the airport currently accommodates more than 50 cargo flights per week coming from different countries and regions.
Main products air-freighted are garments, spare parts for electronic products and machinery, pharmaceutical products, foodstuff, new cars, and valuable items such as gold, diamonds, jewelry, mobile phones, and watches, he said.
"Cargo activities have been crucial amid this challenging time, actually for the last 20 months or so since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged," he told Xinhua. "Our airport teams are very proud to be part of the national effort to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic by handling the deliveries of vaccines and also by taking care of inbound and outbound essential goods."
The airport reported a 29.5 percent surge in cargo volume and a 98 percent decrease in passengers during the Jan.-Nov. 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, he said, adding that however, if compared to 2019, the year before the crisis, the cargo traffic was still down by nearly 20 percent.
Signed on Nov. 15, 2020, the RCEP is a mega free trade pact between 10 ASEAN member states (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) and its FTA partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
The deal will eliminate as much as 90 percent of the tariffs on goods traded among its signatories over the next 20 years.
Cambodian Ministry of Commerce's undersecretary of state and spokesman Penn Sovicheat said RCEP will facilitate trade and diversify the exports of Cambodian products, especially agricultural ones, to the RCEP participating countries.
"RCEP is considered as a victory of multilateralism and free trade and it will become the core foundation for trade and investment in the region," he told Xinhua.
Under RCEP, it is expected that Cambodia's annual export will increase from 9.4 percent to 18 percent, contributing to the economic growth from 2 percent to 3.8 percent, he said, adding that it will increase annual job opportunities from 3.2 percent to 6.2 percent, and tax revenue from 2 percent to 3.9 percent.
Produced by Xinhua Global Service
