Garment workers at their sewing machines in a textile factory in Kandal province’s Ang Snoul district in January 2023. Yousos Apdoulrashim
Cambodia exported more than $1.6 billion worth of textile products to international markets in the first two months of 2024, surging by nearly a quarter compared to the same period in 2023, according to the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE).
From January to February 2024, items categorised under Harmonised System (HS) Codes 61-64 stood at $1.63 billion, up by 24.23% from $1.31 billion year-on-year.
Code 61 products refer to knitted or crocheted articles of apparel and clothing accessories, while Code 62 encompasses non-knitted items. Code 63 includes miscellaneous textiles articles and Code 64 pertains to footwear, gaiters and related parts.
Total export value of the aforementioned products equated to 40.86% of the country’s total export value for the period, which stood at $3.98 billion.
According to the GDCE, exports of Code 61 goods were worth $842.41 million, increasing by 24.5%, and Code 62 items amounted to $527.30 million, expanding by 29.7%. Products under Code 63 clocked in at $33.65 million, rising by 31.9%, and Code 64 items were to the tune of $225.07 million, surging by 11.5%.
Hong Vanak, director of International Economics at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, told The Post on March 12 that since the end of 2023, the country’s export value has risen across nearly all goods and destinations.
He attributed the uptick to the improved global economic situation and a reduction in the volume of goods held in stock by international buyers. He believes the growth trend will continue to strengthen in the future.
“I think the export of these products will continue to increase, because in addition to the figures of export growth over the past few months, we also observed that the Council for the Development of Cambodia [CDC] has approved a number of new investment projects to open factories [here]. Most of these ventures will produce goods for sale to international markets,” he said.
Vanak added that the recent increase in exports was also due to an increase in shipments to member countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Ly Khun Thai, president of the Confederation of Cambodia Investors Association (CCIA) and the Cambodian Footwear Association (CFA), said that after declining sharply during the second half of 2022 and the first half of 2023, orders for textile products have gradually recovered since the second half of 2023.
“For 2024, the export of textile products will definitely exceed that of 2023,” he stated.
Khun Thai noted that positive progress in global economic growth and geopolitical matters would encourage more people to vacation.
“Improving the global political and economic situation will help increase textile exports in 2024 [as more people travel],” he said.
He added that the main markets for Cambodian garment items are the US, EU, UK, Japan and Canada.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance previously stated that the country’s economy is projected to recover in 2024 and is expected to achieve around 6.6% expansion, mainly supported by the industrial sector.
“The [sector] is projected to continue to grow at around 8.5% in 2024, due to the expected recovery of the garment sub-sector, while the non-garment manufacturing sub-sector continues to maintain strong growth and the construction sub-sector remains low,” it stated.
The ministry added that the service industry will grow by 6.9% and agriculture by 1.1%.
Exports of all Code 61-64 items tallied $9.39 billion in 2023, falling by 14.18% from $10.91 billion in 2022, as per the GDCE.
