A developing agricultural sector has helped Cambodia’s vehicle imports surge 35 percent in the first half of 2010, compared to imports for the same period of last year, Ministry of Commerce trade department director Kong Putheara said.

The Kingdom imported 208,611 vehicles in the first six months of this year, a 35 percent increase on the 154,893 units imported to June last year, according to the MoC statistics.

The total imports were worth US$114.37 million, up from $78.87 million.

Kong Putheara said the agricultural sector was a noteworthy contributor to the growth.

“The development of the agricultural sector is significantly contributing to high demand on many kinds of vehicles used for farming,” he said.

“Now people are generating more income there is an increase in demand for people changing from old models to new ones.”

Car dealers in Phnom Penh said that rising personal incomes were boosting sales of new models. Long Narith, managing director of the city’s Nissan Motor, said: “People are making more money so they can spend more on a new car model.”

Chanchal Sinh, facility manager of Auto Sales (Cambodia), which imports Chevrolet, said sales had surged about 50 percent.