Cambodia's garment, footwear exports rake in $7 bn

[geovalin]

Cambodia's garment and footwear products export rose 14.5 per cent in 2015 to $7.1 billion, according to the Industry Ministry's data, Xinhua has reported.

In 2014, garment and footwear exports stood at $6.2 billion, the Ministry said at its annual meeting in Phnom Penh today. Main markets for the products are European countries, the United States, and Canada.

Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Keat Chhon said the growth clearly showed the strength and competitiveness in the country's garment and footwear industry.

"Cambodia's economic growth was estimated at around 7 per cent last year, and the garment industry played an important role to maintain this growth," he said, .

The government would try to seek new foreign markets for the products, he added.

The garment and footwear sector, the country's largest foreign currency earner, has 1,007 factories employing over 7.5 lakh workers. (SH)

http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/apparel-news/cambodia-s-garment-footwear-exports-rake-in-7-bn-177343-newsdetails.htm

[lovelomsak]

Not to many years ago that industry was in Thailand. I am sure thailand wishes now they would have tried harder to keep that industry.

[UKJASE]

does anyone know where in cambodia the main areas are for clothing manufacture?

I have a website for selling clothes and would be interested in purchasing stock from the local market

[lannalad]

Cambodian garment workers are supposed to make $140/mo. (for long hours under militaristic conditions) according to an agreement forced upon them in 2015. But even that paltry amount has proven too arduous for many of the companies involved who, with Hun Sen's backing, decline to meet that standard. Should a company not have sufficient work it is the custom is to retain their workers at half rate until new orders come in, though even these fees are often not met. Should workers protest against poor pay and working conditions they face gangs of paid thugs, plus perhaps the military, and then arrest and jail time under Cambodia's corrupt judicial system (ranked 150th out of 168 by Transparency International. In comparison, Thailand is ranked a balmy 76th.) In addition, it is not too unusual for a company to pack up and leave without warning and without paying its workers. There is reason Cambodians risk hardship and brutality getting themselves smuggled into Thailand to work.

ThaiVisa has taken to carrying several stories a day, possibly taken from the Phnom Penh Post, which give some idea of the conditions in that benighted land.