The exports of garments and textiles from Cambodia grew marginally by 1.07 per cent to US$ 4.521 billion in the first eleven months of 2014, compared to exports of $4.473 billion made during the same period of 2013, according to the consolidated data released by the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC).
As per GMAC’s month-wise garment and textile export figures, Cambodia’s exports were highest at $563.89 million in August 2014, while they were lowest at $233.52 million in November last year.
From January to November 2014, Cambodia exported $1.864 billion worth of garments and textiles to the EU, followed by $1.594 billion to the US, $398.13 million to Canada, and $227.6 million to Japan, the data showed.
During the eleven-month period, Cambodia also exported garments and textiles valued at $436.07 million to other markets, as per GMAC data, which does not include earnings from footwear exports.
In recent years, Cambodia’s apparel and textile exports have grown at a fast pace. From earnings of mere $1.156 billion from clothing and textile exports in 2001, the figure grew to $2.19 billion in 2005, $3.008 billion in 2010, and $4.966 billion in 2013.
However, the growth has slowed down in recent months, mainly due to an increase in wage bills of garment factory owners. In 2012, the minimum wage in Cambodian garment factories stood at $61 per month. This has more than doubled since then and is now at $128 per month, after the implementation of the new wage structure for Cambodian garment factory workers from 1 January 2015.
While the rise in wages has increased the cost of garment factory owners, the prices that Cambodian factories receive in their main markets have been stagnating or declining in recent years. For example, the US Bureau of Labour Statistics has calculated that prices for apparel imports from Asean countries have fallen by 4.5 per cent since June 2012.
Last month, the International Labour Organisation urged global brands to increase the prices they pay to Cambodian factories by 2.4 per cent to 3.0 per cent, to support the new wage levels.
The garment sector is the main foreign exchange earner for Cambodia, accounting for about 80 percent of the country’s overall exports. It employs over 300,000 workers, with more than 90 percent of them being female.
