Cambodia exported apparel items, clothing accessories and knitted and non-knitted or crocheted items worth $4.5 bn in the first seven months this year—down by 20.6 percent year on year (YoY) from $5.6 bn, according to the country’s general department of customs and excise (GDCE).
Knitted and non-knitted apparel and clothing accessories (item codes 61 and 62) accounted for 33 percent of the country’s total exports during the period, amounting to $13.5 bn. In July, such exports fell by 26.6 percent YoY to $814.6 million from over $1.1 bn.
Exports of Cambodian garments have been falling since the fourth quarter of last year, according to Kaing Monika, deputy secretary-general of the Textile, Apparel, Footwear and Travel Goods Association in Cambodia (TAFTAC).
In the beginning of August this year, the sector had 1,077 factories that employed nearly 760,000, TAFTAC data show.
Last year, export of items under codes 61 and 62 totalled over $9 bn, an increase of 12.7 percent from $8 bn in 2021, a Cambodian media outlet reported citing GDCE figures.
