BILATERAL trade with South Korea bounced back in November after plummeting over the first 10 months of 2009, official figures released Wednesday show.

Trade with South Korea climbed 16.6 percent during the month to US$24 million, though Cambodia maintained a significant trade deficit with its larger trade partner, according to figures from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).

KOTRA Deputy Director General Lee Hyoung Seok said he hoped the increase in trade augured well for 2010.

“Hopefully trade will increase further this year because the Cambodian economy is getting better and better,” he said. “I hope and believe demand for products will increase.”

Cambodia exported $1 million worth of products to the East Asian nation, up 55 percent from $711,738 in November 2008, just after the global economic downturn kicked in.

Cambodia imported $22 million worth of goods from South Korea over the month, 17.7 percent higher than a year earlier.

Imports from South Korea of raw materials for the garment sector climbed 62 percent to $10 million in a sign of increasing orders for garments produced in Cambodia.

Bilateral trade between the two countries has now fallen 22 percent year on year to $256 million over the first 11 months of the year. South Korea’s exports have contracted 23 percent to $240 million, though Cambodia has improved its exports slightly from $15.08 million to $15.58.

Bilateral trade between Cambodia and Vietnam has plummeted 26 percent over the first 11 months of 2009 to $1.176 billion from $1.587 billion over the same period a year earlier, according to figures released by the Vietnamese embassy.

Cambodia’s exports of mostly agricultural products and unprocessed foodstuffs were down 21 percent to $159 million while imports fell 26.7 percent to $1.17 billion.