CAMBODIA: Garment exports growth slows down

According to the recent statistics issued by the commerce ministry the growth rate of garment exports of Cambodia has slowed down.

The export growth rate is expected to fall in the second half of year also.

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. But the exports in same period for 2006 had recorded a growth of 30% over exports for the same period of 2005.

Ken Loo, secretary general of the Garment Manufacturers'' Association of Cambodia has said that the main reason for the slowdown was most 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.

So the reason behind the slowdown is also the increase in Vietnam’s exports to the US. The competition for Cambodia is increasing.

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.

Garments accounted for nearly 19 percent of Cambodia''s total GDP and employed some 337,000 workers.

The garment sector is one of the country's main engines of economy.