SINGAPORE: Cambodia is importing more fuel from suppliers in Singapore and Malaysia to make up for supply shortfalls from Vietnam and China, its energy minister told Reuters on Wednesday (May 18), as the US-Israeli war on Iran squeezes fuel availability globally.
About a third of the 6,300 petrol stations in the country of nearly 18 million people closed last week due to uncertainty over the impact of the conflict on fuel prices, but many have reopened ever since and only 5.77 per cent are closed currently, Energy Minister Keo Rottanak told Reuters.
Vietnam and China have restricted fuel exports until at least end-March to arrest potential domestic shortages. Neighbouring Thailand banned exports in July 2025 after the onset of armed conflict with Cambodia and has not resumed supplies since.
Thailand and Vietnam together accounted for over 60 per cent of Cambodia’s annual petroleum product imports in 2024, while Singapore and Malaysia made up nearly a third and China accounted for around 7 per cent, according to data from International Trade Centre, a Geneva-based UN-WTO trade agency.
Rottanak said Cambodia was boosting imports from Singapore and Malaysia due to export restrictions elsewhere.
“We’re still able to import a little bit from China. But because we have strong partnerships with global suppliers Total and Chevron, they are able to mitigate some of the risk,” he said in an interview to Reuters.
Rottanak did not provide specifics on when the supplies from Singapore and Malaysia would arrive, but said current fuel stockpiles were comparable to historical levels.
Gasoline and diesel exports from the two countries to Cambodia in the first 18 days of this month were 25 per cent higher than the same period last year, but 40 per cent lower than in the final 18 days of February, Kpler data showed.
Cambodia has no oil refinery, and has less than a month’s supply of diesel, jet fuel, liquefied petroleum gas and petrol under normal conditions, Rottanak said.
“We are not yet 100 per cent insulated at this stage, but the inflow seems to be okay for the time being,” he said.
