Cambodia's Garment, Footwear, Travel Goods Exports Down 12 pct in 2023
Garment workers make clothes at a factory in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Dec. 17, 2021. Photo: Xinhua/Wu Changwei
- By Xinhua News Agency
- January 14, 2024 4:15 PM
PHNOM PENH -- Cambodia exported 11.12 billion U.S. dollars worth of garment, footwear and travel products to international markets in 2023, a decrease of 12 percent from 12.68 billion dollars in the year before, said a General Department of Customs and Excise's report on Saturday.
Apparel and textiles accounted for nearly 8.13 billion dollars in 2023, marking a drop of 11 percent from 9.16 billion dollars in a year earlier, the report said.
Footwear represented 1.36 billion dollars, down more than 21 percent from nearly 1.74 billion dollars, while travel goods absorbed 1.63 billion dollars, also down 8 percent from almost 1.78 billion dollars, the report added.
Ministry of Commerce's Secretary of State and Spokesperson Penn Sovicheat said major buyers of the products are the European Union, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, among others.
"A slowdown in global demand, particularly in the European Union, has led to a decline in our exports of garment, textile, footwear and travel products," he told Xinhua.
The garment, textile, footwear and travel goods industry is the biggest foreign exchange earner for the Southeast Asian country.
The sector currently consists of roughly 1,680 factories and branches, employing some 918,000 workers, mostly female, according to the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training's updated report.
