Friday, July 13, 2007

Growth rate of garment exports of Cambodia slows down

July 13, 2007

The growth rate of the garment exports of Cambodia has been slowed down this year, said recent statistic issued by the Commerce Ministry.

The total exports of garments and textiles in the first five months of this year amounted to nearly 985 million U.S. dollars, an 11.2 percent increase over the same period of last year, said the statistics.

However, from January to May 2006, the industry''s exports stood at 885 million U.S. dollars, a 30 percent increase over the same period of 2005, said the ministry.

Ken Loo, secretary general of the Garment Manufacturers'' Association of Cambodia, was quoted on Friday by English-language newspaper the Cambodian Daily as saying that the main reason for the slowdown was likely the recent ascension of Vietnam to the World Trade Organization.

Vietnam''s entry to WTO in January has eliminated many of the restrictions that kept Vietnamese goods out of international markets that Cambodia used to export to, he said.

Another potential factor was the price fetched by garments on the international market, which continued to drop, he said.

"It is a combination of external factors that are beyond our control," he added.

Garment, one of the country''s main engines of economy, accounted for nearly 19 percent of Cambodia''s total GDP and employed some 337,000 workers.

Source: Xinhua

No comments: