Although industry representatives observed a little slowdown in the market due to rising competition from regional players, Ith Sam Heng, Cambodia’s Labour Minister applauded the strong growth and employment level of the garment industry of the country. While speaking on the occasion of International Labour Day, the Minister said that the sector provided US $ 2 billion in salaries annually and created employment for 750,000 workers with the minimum wage increasing by nearly 10 per cent last year to US $ 153 a month. “With the combination of other additional benefits, each worker can get paid a total of about US $ 170 per month to US $ 181 per month,” he added.
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Despite strong competition from countries like Bangladesh and Myanmar, the garment industry of Cambodia continues to grow said Van Sou Ieng, President of Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC). “We are still able to survive, but the growth rate is at an average level with just single digit growth,” he mentioned.
The Labour Minister however underlined that growth of the sector should begin to increase with the expansion of travel goods exports to the US that received duty-free privileges last July; to which, Van added, “Some of them are building factories which will soon be operational. The export value of Cambodian-made travel goods will increase noticeably in the near future.”
The garment industry continues to dominate Cambodia’s exports, accounting for over 10 per cent of GDP.
