PHNOM PENH, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia saw a slow rise in trade volume with Vietnam and a slight decrease with Thailand in the first quarter of this year, according to the figures provided on Wednesday.

The bilateral trade with Vietnam valued at 1 billion U.S. dollars during the January-March period this year, up 9 percent compared with the same period last year, showed data from the Vietnam trade office in Cambodia.

The figures said Cambodia's total exports to Vietnam was worth 221 million U.S. dollars during the period, up 10 percent, while the country's imports from Vietnam valued at 791 million U.S. dollars, up 10 percent.

Tran Tu, trade councilor to the Vietnam Trade Office in Cambodia, said Wednesday that both sides' officials are working together to improve customs procedures and trade facilitation at the border checkpoints in order to boost broader flows of goods between the two neighbors.

On the bilateral trade ties with Thailand, the total trade volume between Cambodia and Thailand had amounted to 1.1 billion U. S. dollars during the first quarter of this year, down 2.3 percent from 1.13 billion U.S. dollars at the same period last year, according to the reports released by Thai embassy to Cambodia.

Cambodia's export to Thailand was 101 million U.S. dollars, up 19 percent, while Thailand's export to Cambodia was 1 billion U.S. dollars, down 4 percent, it said.

Jiranan Wongmongkol, director of the Thai embassy's foreign trade promotion office in Phnom Penh, said the drop was because of Thai baht appreciation.