The economy forecasted to grow by 2.5% this year

The economy forecasted to grow by 2.5% this year

Cambodia’s economic growth is forecasted to grow by just 2.5 percent this year, down from the previous projection of over 4 percent.

The figures were made known by Prime Minister Hun Sen at a press conference following the launch of the vaccination campaign of the under-18s, held here at the Peace Palace Sunday morning.

The Premier also laid stress on the supporting sectors for the country’s economic growth, particularly agriculture.

Hun Sen quoted a report from Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Veng Sakhon, affirming that the agricultural exports increased more than expected.

The rice export went down a bit, but the shipment of paddy rice to Vietnam and United Arab Emirates rose by 200 percent while the export of cashew nuts by 300 percent, along with the increase in the export of cassava, mangoes, bananas, etc.

Besides, he added, the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) continues to approve new investment projects, while the tourism sector would recover after the full vaccination against COVID-19.

In May this year, US credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service said it expected Cambodia’s growth to expand by 2.9 percent this year — reversing an estimated 3.0 percent contraction last year but well below average growth of 7.0 percent between 2010 and 2019.

“Under our assumptions, economic growth rates will not fully recover to pre-pandemic levels until at least 2022,” the rating agency said. C. Nika – AKP