PHNOM PENH (XINHUA) – Cambodia has seen a two-digit rise in the exports of textiles, garments, footwear, and travel goods during the first 10 months of 2024, said a General Department of Customs and Excise’s report yesterday.
Textiles worth USD406 million were exported during the January-October period this year, a year-on-year increase of 14.5 per cent, the report said, adding that garments worth USD8 billion were shipped to international markets, up 23.6 per cent.
Also, USD1.33 billion worth of footwear was exported, up 22 per cent, while travel goods equivalent to USD1.69 billion were sold to international market, up 20.6 per cent, the report added.
Chief economist of the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) Hoe Ee Khor said the garments, footwear, and travel goods (GFT) sector remained one of the major drivers for Cambodia’s economic growth.
“Growth in the GFT sector is projected to rebound steadily in 2024, driven by stronger demand for consumer goods in major advanced markets,” he wrote to Xinhua in a recent e-mail. The GFT industry is the largest foreign exchange earner for the Southeast Asian country. The sector currently consists of about 1,538 factories and branches, employing approximately 913,000 workers, mostly female, according to the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training’s latest report.
