PHNOM PENH: Cambodia exported US$8.25 billion worth of products to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) members in the first 11 months of 2024, up 14.4 per cent from US$7.21 billion over the same period last year, said a Ministry of Commerce's report on Monday.

The RCEP market, accounted for 33.9 per cent of the kingdom's total export volume of US$24.34 billion during the January-November period this year, reported Xinhua quoting the report.

Cambodia's top five export destinations under the regional mega-trade deal are Vietnam, China, Japan, Thailand, and Australia, the report said.

The RCEP comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries including 10 Asean member states – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and their five trading partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Cambodian Ministry of Commerce's Secretary of State and Spokesperson Penn Sovicheat said the RCEP, which took effect in 2022, is a catalyst for long-term export growth and a magnet to attract more foreign direct investment to the kingdom.

"With preferential tariffs provided under the RCEP agreement, Cambodia's exports to other RCEP members will continue to rise in coming years, undoubtedly," he told Xinhua.

Sovicheat said the RCEP, together with other bilateral free trade agreements and the Belt and Road Initiative, helps Cambodia achieve its ambitious goals of becoming an upper middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income nation by 2050.