Cambodia’s exports of garments, footwear and travel goods (GFT) surged by 23.33 percent in the first eight months of this year, compared to the same period last year, earning the country $9.08 billion, according to the latest trade data of the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE).
The GFT exports, the biggest export earner for the Kingdom, made a turnaround this year after declining continuously for nearly 18 months from mid-2022 till the end of 2023.
As much as 51.7 percent of Cambodia’s total export earnings of $17.58 billion in the January to August 2024 period came from GFT goods, the data showed.
The turnaround has brought a big relief for the Cambodian government which was providing monetary support for the workers in the sector who lost jobs following factory closures or suspension of work.
While expressing happiness on the export performance, Ken Loo, the Secretary General of the Textile, Apparel, Footwear & Travel Goods Association in Cambodia (TAFTAC), told Khmer Times recently that the rising trend would continue for the rest of the year.
The sector is on the path of recovery as global demand is rising, especially in the US and Europe, despite geopolitical uncertainties such as the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars.
Of late, the Cambodia GFT sector is also attracting more investment with renewed interest from foreign investors in opening textiles and travel goods factories.
According to the latest trade data, all segments under the GFT sector performed well in the January to August period this year, raising their exports, compared to the same period last year.
Accordingly, the exports of knitted apparel articles and clothing accessories earned $4.36 billion, registering a growth of 20.1 percent, compared to the January-August 2023 period. Non-knitted apparel articles brought in $2.11 billion with a growth of 31.9 percent year-on-year.
Articles of leather and travel goods brought in $1.37 billion in the first eight months this year, an increase of 20.9 percent year-on-year. Footwear exports earned another $1.08 billion during this period with a growth of 22.4 percent over the same period.
Other made-up textile articles earned $140 million from January to August 2024, registering a growth of 41 percent, compared to the same period last year.
In August 2024 alone, the GFT exports earned the country $1.57 billion, a rise of 57.51 percent, compared to August 2023 when the exports earned only $1 billion.
The GFT sector is one of the biggest employment generators in the country and has created nearly one million direct jobs, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The sector accounted for 11 percent of the economy and contributed around 50 percent of Cambodia’s real GDP growth as per its estimates in 2021.
It may be recalled that Cambodia’s GFT exports declined by 13.31 percent in 2023 amidst global challenges compared to 2022, from $12.80 billion earned in 2022 to $11.09 billion in 2023, leading to the suspension of work for many factory employees.
The Cambodian government in March 2023 started providing an allowance of $40 a month to each worker in the GFT sector whose labour contract was suspended following the slowdown in global demand. This was in addition to the $30 given to each suspended worker by the factory managements.
[Source: khmertimeskh]
