Cambodia - Economy - 1980s
Statistical economic data, including gross national product (GNP), gross domestic product (GDP) and balance of payments was generally unavailable, lacking, or unreliable in late 1980s. There had been a negative trade balance from 1979 until 1987. In 1984 the country had extended public debt to US$503 million, and had debt service payments of US$4 million. In 1987, the official exchange rate was 100 Cambodian riels per United States dollar, with the unofficial rate being about 123 riels per dollar. The Cambodian riel was not negotiable in international money markets.
The nation at the time was evolving toward socialistic central planning, but more than 50 percent of economy, especially retail trade and small scale manufacturing, remained in private sector. The First Five-Year Program for Socioeconomic Restoration and Development (1986-90), simply known as the First Plan, inaugurated by the Vietnamese sponsoned authorities in power at the time, with priority on increased cultivation of rice and rubber, increased exploitation of forest and aquatic resources; economically active population about 2.5 to 3 million. Collectivization of agriculture undertaken through organization of from seven to fifteen-families in solidarity groups (krom samaki) were the basic production units.
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing
About 80 percent of the labor force was engaged in agriculture, forestry, fishing as of 1987, with the main crop being paddy rice. Output was 2 million tons in 1986, with an area under cultivation of 1.2 million hectares in 1987. Under the government's First Plan, output was expected to increase 7 percent annually to 350 kilograms per person by 1990. Production was, however, impeded by irrigation systems that had been neglected during the Pol Pot regime, localized insecurity caused by forays of anti-Vietnamese Khmer insurgents, and lack of phosphate fertilizers. In 1986, the country's principal food crops were maize, cassavas, sweet potatoes, groundnuts, beans, and sesame seeds. The principal commercial crop was rubber. Forests covered approximately 70 percent of land area, with the first reforestation project being initiated in northeastern and southwestern regions of country. Fishing was conducted in Tonle Sap, rivers, and offshore in Gulf of Thailand.
Industry
The country's industrial sector was developing slowly in the late 1980s, largely because of a lack of power and raw materials. It accounted for less than 10 percent of labor force in 1987. In the countryside, an unknown number of rice-processing mills and sawmills were reported to back into operation by 1986 after being shut down by the Pol Pot regime and civil strife. In urban areas, about 60 state-owned factories produced light consumer goods such as plastic items, hand tools, soft drinks, cigarettes, textiles, nails, jute bags, soap, and basic pharmaceuticals. A phosphate fertilizer plant, distillery, and brick tile plant were reportedly operating. In 1987 small-scale artisans were being collectivized in Phnom Penh, and development plans call for opening of brewery, plywood, and cement factories.
Services
Total public sector employment (including state employees, industrial workers, artisans, party cadres, teachers, and armed forces personnel) amounted to about 8 percent of economically active population in 1987.
Resources, Exports and Imports
Cambodia's natural resources were limited, but did include sources of gemstones, gold, silver, phosphate, limestone, clay. The country also had possible deposits of salt and coal, along with unexploited deposits of iron and manganese ore, bauxite, and silicon being reported. The country also had hydroelectric potential from Mekong and Basak rivers.
Exports into Cambdoia totalled approximately US$3 million in 1986. The principal exports were natural rubber (latex), timber, resin, mazie, tobacco, and soybeans. Rubber and forest products were seen as offering the best hope for expansion in near term at that time. The country's main export partners at the time were Vietnam, the Soviet Union (which purchases nearly the entire Cambodian output of latex), and other countries belonging to the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA, CEMA, or Comecon). The country's imports totalled approximately US$17 million in 1986. The principal imports were foodstuffs, fuels, machinery, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals. Cambodia's Main import partners at the time were Vietnam, the Soviet Union, and other Comecon countries, especially Poland and Czechoslovakia.
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