Cambodia’s apparel and footwear exports for the year 2015 have risen by 6.7 per cent. The latest apparel and footwear export figures from the country have reached US $ 6.5 billion. Out of the total Cambodian apparel and footwear exports, over 85 per cent accounted for apparels.
The country’s main trading partner for this category remains Europe, on account of the GSP facility that Cambodia enjoys. As a result, close to 40 per cent of the produce (worth approximately US $ 2.4 billion) from the Cambodian apparel and footwear factories was exported to the EU. The US is the country’s second biggest market, its Cambodian apparel imports reportedly being worth US $ 1.65 billion.
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The growth can be attributed to the recent investments in the market. Market estimates enlist close to 80 new production units that came up in the course of the year fuelled this growth of the Cambodian apparel and footwear sector. Nevertheless, investment is expected to slow down in 2016, with US $ 167 million allocated to 38 projects, as opposed to US $ 332 million for 57 projects last year, reports CF Group.
It is estimated that the Cambodian apparel industry generates more than 700,000 jobs in 1,200 workshops making it a mainstay of Cambodian economy. The sector’s significance pushed the Cambodian Government to forestall potential strikes by passing a bill last autumn which bolstered trade union law.
