[PHNOM PENH POST]
Cambodia's garment exports surged 45 percent through April on resurgent
Western markets and new demand from Asia, officials said yesterday.
Total
garment deliveries between January and April reached US$1.2 billion, up
from $846 billion in the same period of 2010, according to Ministry of
Commerce statistics.
Industry insiders credited a rebound in the
world’s economies and a pickup in orders from both overseas and
regional markets for the move.
“Our exports should continue to
improve now that we’re seeing a recovery from the global financial
crisis,” said Cheat Khemara, a senior officer at the Garment
Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC).
“At the same time,
the rising demand in new markets in Asia also contributed to the
surge,” he said, referring to Japan, China and South Korea.
Cheat
Khemara said the garment industry sought out different markets in the
region to compensate for slowdowns in the US and European Union, though
those markets had since shown increasing signs of strength.
GMAC predicted the industry would grow about 20 percent by the end of the year.
Still,
recent exports still have not increased enough to meet global demand,
said Kong Putheara, a Director at the Commerce Ministry’s statistics
department.
That demand has remained relatively stable because
Cambodia makes lower-end garments, which have escaped much of the
financial crisis, he said.
“Although some European countries have struggled, our supply is just for ordinary people so the demand still there,” he said.
Minister
of Commerce Cham Prasidh last month offered similar sentiments, saying
low-end garment products felt little impact during the slowdown.
“We
are producing lower-end goods. That means that even if you aren’t
wealthy in the US, you can still buy a T-shirt from Cambodia,” he said.
“That’s why we survive. Maybe if we serviced the higher-end market we would suffer more,” he added.
Total
exports to the US rose 25 percent in the first four months of 2011,
climbing to $654 million from $522 million in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the EU’s market saw a surge of 78 percent in
Cambodian imports to $247 million, up from $139 million the year before.
While exports may be higher, Cheat Khemara claimed growth in profits has remained elusive.
“Now,
everything is getting more expensive, like petrol and especially raw
materials to supply the industry, but our selling price is the same. So
the profit the industry makes is hurt by these expenses,” he said.
Cheat Khemara also said improved regulations have stabilised the sector and helped the industry grow.
At
the end of 2010, Cambodia had 273 garment factories, employing a total
of 319,000 workers, according to Commerce Ministry data.
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