Economics and Agribusiness in Cambodia
The Kingdom of Cambodia is a mid-sized country located in Southeast Asia. Currently, Cambodia has a total territory of little over 180.000 square kilometers, which is somewhat smaller than the state of Oklahoma. The country is dominated by flat plains alongside mountains on the north and southwest as well as 443 kilometers of coastline along the Gulf of Thailand. Likewise, the country has a total population of approximately 16 million citizens, 21% of which live in an urban setting. Even though the capital city of Phnom Penh has over 1.7 million inhabitants, Cambodia is amongst the minority of countries in the world where most of the population lives in a rural setting. The national annual gross domestic product (GDP) is about US$55 billion (PPP) and the country has experienced positive economic growth upwards of 6.0% in recent years. The Cambodian economy is divided into 27% agriculture, 30% manufacturing, and 43% services. Similarly, it is estimated that the agricultural industry employs 49% of the national labor force, while manufacturing employs 20% and services employ another 31%. Meanwhile, the agriculture industry utilizes 32% of the national territory, while another 57% is forested.
In terms of natural resources, Cambodia has petroleum, gas, timber, gemstones, iron ore, manganese, phosphates, hydropower potential, and arable land. Within manufacturing, the national industry is focused on garments, textiles, construction, rice milling, fishing, wood products, rubber, cement, and gem mining. Likewise, an important sector of the Cambodian economy is devoted to the services and tourism industries. Simultaneously, the country’s agricultural industry has as main products rice, rubber, corn, vegetables, cashews, cassava, tapioca, and silk. During 2015, Cambodia imported US$15.3 billion worth of goods and exported US$16.1 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of US$768 million. Furthermore, that same year, Cambodia’s main export, representing 12% or US$1.9 billion of the country’s total, were knitted sweaters. On the other hand, the country’s main import, representing 9.9% or US$1.5 billion of all international purchases, was light rubberized knitted fabric. In terms of trade, Cambodia belongs to the regional Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its main partners are the United States, Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Japan, and the European Union.
Economics and Agribusiness in Cambodia
Unfortunately, in Cambodia, some 2.2 million people suffer from undernourishment. In recent years, the average per capita protein intake of animal origin amongst the Cambodian population has been of 18 grams daily. Meanwhile, cereals, roots, and tubers supply 72% of the average food energy intake in the country. Land distribution and output in Cambodia have also evolved throughout the last half century. Back in 1961, permanent pastures and meadows in the country covered 580.000 hectares, while arable land covered little over 2.8 million hectares and permanent crops accounted for 100.000 hectares. More recently, by 2014, permanent pastures and meadows had increased to 1.5 million hectares, while arable land represented 3.8 million hectares and permanent crops covered 155.000 hectares. In 1961, the cereals market in Cambodia utilized almost 2.3 million hectares of land and yielded approximately 2.6 million metric tons annually. Finally, in 2014, the country devoted 3 million hectares of land to cereals production and yielded almost 10 million metric tons.
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