Cambodia’s garment, footwear exports cross $5bn in 2017

The value of garments and footwear exported by Cambodia in the first nine months of the current year have crossed the $5 billion mark, according to the ministry of commerce.

Apparel exports fetched $4.9 billion and accounted for 63 per cent of the total $7.7 billion exports made the by the southeast Asian nation in January-September 2017.

In terms of percentage, however, footwear exports witnessed a sharp rise of 43.3 per cent and earned $636 million for Cambodia during the nine-month period.

Despite a surge in minimum wages during the past few years, the increase in value of Cambodian garment and footwear exports can be attributed to the preference enjoyed by the Kingdom under Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) and Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status. Both GSP and MFN give duty-free access and/or lower tariffs for Cambodian goods.
 
European Union continues to be the biggest market for Cambodian products, followed by the US and Japan.