Synopsis: The garments, footwear and travel products (GFT) sector is the largest foreign exchange earner for the Kingdom.
Cambodia exported $6,137 million of garments, footwear and travel products (GFT) in the past five months, up 23.5 percent from $4,969 million in the same period in 2024, a report from the Ministry of Commerce showed.
The GDCE report showed that garment and textile exports reached $4,459 million, up more than 23 percent from $3,628 million in the same period last year.
Also, $836 million worth of footwear was exported, up nearly 7 percent, while travel goods equivalent to $842 million were shipped to international markets, up 7 percent, the report added.
Kaing Monika, Deputy Secretary-General of the Textile, Apparel, Footwear and Travel Goods Association in Cambodia (TAFTAC), said the situation in Cambodia’s garment industry is still good despite external pressures, while the recent US tariffs policy has not yet caused any disruption in the sector.
He stated that the decision to place production in a country depends on the country’s value, reputation, and compliance level. Before, talks focused only on workers’ rights, freedom of association, but now talks include compliance with the social environment, he said at the recent Cambodia Economic Forum.
It is a combination of various factors to reach the final decision on whether to continue or transfer production to another country, he added.
“We must prepare in advance and continue to strengthen what we can do in our areas of competence, such as the investment environment, strengthening the competitiveness of Cambodia as a whole, especially for our sector, which has many combined factors, including electricity prices, logistics costs, electricity policies, and worker productivity, all related to our country’s competitiveness,” he said.
The industry is the largest foreign exchange earner for the Kingdom.
The sector currently consists of about 1,538 factories and branches, employing approximately 913,000 workers, mostly women, according to the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training’s latest report.
Cambodia has recently concluded a second round of trade talks on Reciprocal Trade with the US, with both sides agreeing on substantial provisions for an agreement aimed at achieving trade benefits for both countries.
Penn Sovicheat, Secretary of State and spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, said that the ministry has a policy of diversifying markets and diversifying goods, expanding through free trade agreements and encouraging local industries to produce a variety of goods to export to markets.
“In the negotiations, we have a lot of potential to achieve positive results. We have a clear goal of what level of taxes is acceptable and can be negotiated by working closely with garment associations as well as investors. We also have the ability to expand into other sectors,” he said.
