Cambodia will soon launch a development strategy designed to transform the country’s garment trade into a dynamic, diversified, high-value and competitive sector, with a focus on the upskilling of factory workers, according to Ministry of Economy and Finance Secretary of State Phan Phalla, who recently said value-addition in the sector has been low in the last 20 years. Phalla was speaking at a public forum on macroeconomic management and the 2022 Law on Financial Management.
Finance Ministry permanent Secretary of State Vongsey Vissoth said the sector still has the potential to achieve significant growth for the country’s economy, but that requires the proper implementation of this development strategy, according to a report.
He added that the strategy also aims to increase the number of domestic investors, “as currently 95 percent of investors in Cambodia’s garment sector are foreigners”.
Exports in the sector rose by more than 10 percent in 2021. Cambodia exported nearly $8.83 bn worth of garments, footwear and travel goods in the first 10 months of 2021, up by more than a tenth year-on-year, according to data posted by the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC).
