Cambodia's trade with US up 2% in first half of 2013

Bilateral trade between Cambodia and the United States has amounted to 1.44 billion U.S. dollars in the first six months of the year, up 2 percent compared with 1.41 billion U.S. dollars over the same period last year, the figures of the U.S. Department of Commerce showed Wednesday. Cambodia's export to the U.S. was valued at 1.32 billion U.S. dollars during the January-June period this year, up 4 percent, while the country's import from the U.S. totaled 124 million U.S. dollars, up 3 percent, the figures said. Kong Putheara, chief of the statistics and planning department at Cambodian Ministry of Commerce, said the growth reflected Cambodia's better economic performance and the U.S.'s economic recovery. The United States is Cambodia's largest export destination. Main items Cambodia sold to the U.S. are mostly garments and footwear, and key products the country imported from the U.S. are vehicles, machinery and medical equipment and supplies. Last year, the two countries'trade volume was valued at 2.92 billion U.S. dollars, up 0.7 percent year-on-year.