Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency To Host Consumer Experience Event
Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) has announced it will be organising a consumer experience event in Phnom Penh on March 27th 2024 at the Phnom Penh Sofitel Hotel with the main goal of promoting South Korean products via Cambodian online influencers.
The KOTRA consumer goods demonstration event is organised by the KOTRA Phnom Penh Trade Center and will be attended by 10 domestic consumer goods companies and 20 overseas buyers. They report that exporting to the Cambodian market from South Korea has been growing at an annual average growth rate of 7-8 per cent and that the young Cambodian population are fans of Korean culture and brands.
To tap into the young market, KOTRA hopes to activate social media influencers, such as via platforms like YouTube, to promote consumer goods and target the younger generation in Cambodia. KOTRA has 129 trade centres globally to support their aims of increasing exports of small and medium-sized companies.
Social Media Influencers - Cambodia
Milieu Insight’s study on influencer marketing in Southeast Asia suggested that more than half of Southeast Asians follow influencers as modern-day role models and the top three social media platforms are YouTube (72 per cent), Instagram (60 per cent), and Facebook (60 per cent).
Influencer marketing in Cambodia has risen in popularity and brands have sought to align with the most popular influencers to raise their profiles across multiple platforms. The statistics in the Kingdom indicate that by 2023, there were 10+ million users of Facebook in the Kingdom; with Facebook Messenger (7 million users), TikTok (7 million users), Instagram (1.75 million users), LinkedIn (530K users), and X (formerly Twitter) (393K users) being the next most popular platforms - all for a population of around 17 million!
YouTube launched its Partner Program in Cambodia in Q4 2022, which allows content creators to earn money and gain opportunities and the barrier to earning (globally) was further lowered in 2023.
Read More about How Can Businesses In Cambodia Leverage The Power Of Social Media.
Cambodian-South Korea Trade
The Cambodia–Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA) came into effect in December 2022 and offers investment incentives under the framework of new investment laws. By 2023, more than 200 South Korean companies were investing in Cambodia, and KOTRA was looking to attract more in the auto or vehicle parts as well as timber product sectors.
The Cambodian government has also previously asked KOTRA to invest in the processing and packaging of agricultural products in the Kindom - such as cassava, longan, rubber, banana, durian, mango, and other tropical fruits - which could increase the exports of local agricultural produce to the Korean markets. Cambodia's main exports to South Korea include garments, footwear, travel products and agricultural goods.
In 2023, Cambodia exported USD $281.14 million to South Korea, while importing USD $470.25 million. The total bilateral trade reached USD $751.38 million. The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), reported that South Korea was one of the largest sources of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2023 and is one of the largest trade partners for the Kingdom.