SINGAPORE, March 18 — Cambodia is importing more fuel from suppliers in Malaysia and Singapore to make up for supply shortfalls from Vietnam and China, its Mines and Energy Minister Keo Rottanak told Reuters today, as the United States-Israel war on Iran squeezes fuel availability globally.
About a third of the 6,300 fuel stations in the country of nearly 18 million have shut since March 11, with authorities investigating whether businesses are hoarding stocks ahead of further price hikes.
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 Malaysia and Singapore made up nearly a third and China accounted for around 7 per cent, according to data from International Trade Centre, a Geneva-based United Nations-World Trade Organisation agency.
Keo said Cambodia is boosting imports from Malaysia and Singapore 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.
He did not provide specifics on when the supplies from Malaysia and Singapore would arrive, but said current fuel stockpiles are 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, Keo 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.
Cambodia has been partly shielded from the shock by a rapid buildout of renewable energy, he said, and that fuel imports have largely remained stable from 2022 levels due to renewables-led electrification.
“Because of renewable energy, we are in a way less susceptible to 100 per cent shock from the oil in the Middle East,” he said, adding that the conflict highlights the need to expedite the ASEAN Power Grid.
“Situations like this should remind all of us that an ASEAN Power Grid is the way to go. We would be much, much more resilient than we are today,” Keo urged.
