Commerce specialists have urged increased investment in the production and processing of local products in response to the growing tensions along the Cambodia-Thailand border. They expressed concerns that the situation has been escalating due to provocative actions by the Thai military, including threats to close border checkpoints or cut off electricity and internet supplies to Cambodia.

Cambodian Senate president Hun Sen took to social media this morning, June 13, to warn that recently, information has circulated on social media about threats from some Thai extremist groups to cut off electricity and internet supplies to Cambodia.

“To avoid uncertainty or difficulty for Thailand in deciding whether or when to cut supplies, Cambodia has decided to ensure its own electricity and internet supply without relying on imports from Thailand anymore,” he said.

Hun Sen instructed Cambodian government institutions to prepare for the implementation of strong measures in the event of these threats becoming a reality, especially border closures. He noted that such closures could encourage Cambodia to reduce or stop the use of Thai goods, replacing them with domestic products or imports from countries other than the neighbouring Kingdom.

According to General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE), from January to May 2025, trade between Cambodia and Thailand totalled $1.879 billion, an increase of 8.3% over to the same period in 2024. Of this, Cambodia exported $395.95 million to Thailand (up 1.1%) and imported $1.483 billion worth of goods from Thailand (up 10.4%). Currently, Thailand is Cambodia’s fourth-largest trading partner, following China, the US and Vietnam.

Cambodia strengthens domestic production, processing capacity

Lim Heng, vice-president of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, told The Post on June 13 that the border tensions, rising political pressure and border closures initiated by Thailand have caused harm to both countries. However, he emphasised that Cambodia will not face significant issues due to these closures or a halt of Thai imports because the country’s production capacity has steadily increased, and Cambodia has access to alternative markets such as Vietnam and China.

He added that while some border closures initiated by Thailand may affect farmers who export agricultural products, the products can be redirected to nearby countries or used to enhance domestic processing capabilities through local factories.

“This issue arises at a time when Cambodia has been actively working to strengthen and expand its production and processing capacity for domestic products.,” he noted.

Lor Vichet, vice-president of the Cambodia-China Commerce Association (CCCA), said that although trade relations between Cambodia and Thailand have not yet been severely affected to the point of halting the use of each other's products, Cambodia now has an urgent need to ramp up local production.

He added that promoting local products will yield multiple benefits for the national economy, including attracting more direct investment, creating jobs and boosting the Kingdom’s export capacity.

“This is an opportunity for Cambodia to strive to strengthen and expand its production capacity, as well as to build confidence in the quality of local products — efforts that will significantly contribute to accelerating national economic growth,” he said.

Cambodia-Thailand bilateral tourism declining

According to the Ministry of Tourism, from January to April 2025, Cambodia welcomed a total of 2.4 million international visitors — an increase of 13.6% compared to the same period in 2024. Among these, Thai nationals made up the largest group, with approximately 674,134 visitors, a 14.6% increase.

Thourn Sinan, chairman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Cambodia Chapter, stated that the ongoing border conflict and rising political tensions between Cambodia and Thailand — fuelled by Thai nationalist groups — are negatively affecting the interests of both nations. He noted that in recent years, many of the Thai tourists crossing into Cambodia were primarily visiting border casinos.

“When looking at the tourism (travel flow) benefits between Cambodia and Thailand, Thailand earns far more from Cambodian travellers than Cambodia does from Thais,” he said.

Sinan added that following the armed incident along the Cambodia-Thailand border on the morning of May 28, numerous travel packages and flight bookings between the two countries were immediately cancelled. Only a small number of essential trips — such as medical appointments and business meetings — remained. Additionally, plans for organising tourism exhibitions and bilateral business meetings have now been almost entirely cancelled.

“As a Cambodian citizen, I fully support the six-point statement made by Senate president Hun Sen on the morning of June 13, as well as his previous messages. As a nation, we must demand respect and equality in co-existence. Recently on social media, some Thai politicians have made offensive and degrading remarks toward the Cambodian nation, which is unacceptable for a country with dignity, history, language and culture,” he said.

According to Sinan, Cambodian travellers to Thailand can generally be divided into four categories: Those seeking medical services, shopping, tourists and officials or businesspeople going for meetings or commercial negotiations.

Meanwhile, Thai nationals traveling to Cambodia fall into three categories: casino customers, businesspeople and tourists.