Cambodia's garment, footwear, travel goods exports down 17.8 per cent in first nine months

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua): Cambodia exported US$8.14 billion worth of garment, footwear and travel products to international markets in the first nine months of 2023, down 17.8 percent from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Commerce has announced.

Garments accounted for 5.93 billion dollars during the Jan.-Sept. period, marking a drop of 17.3 percent from a year earlier, it said in a report.

Footwear accounted for 991.7 million dollars, down about 25 percent year on year, while travel goods totaled 1.22 billion dollars, down 13.4 percent, the report said.

Ministry of Commerce's Secretary of State and spokesperson Penn Sovicheat said major buyers included the European Union (EU), the United States, Canada, Britain, and Japan, among others.

"Global economic slowdown, particularly in the eurozone, has led to a decline in our exports of garment, footwear and travel products," he told Xinhua.

Garment, footwear and travel goods industry is the largest foreign exchange earner for the South=East Asian country.

The sector involves roughly 1,300 factories and branches, employing approximately 840,000 workers, mostly female, according to the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training. - Xinhua