Cambodia sees 16pc rise in garment, footwear exports

PHNOM PENH, July 21 (Xinhua): Garment and footwear industry, Cambodia's largest income earner, saw a 16 per cent increase in exports in the first six months of 2014, according to a commerce ministry's report on Sunday.
The country exported apparel and footwear products worth US$2.92 billion during the January-June period this year, up 16 per cent from $2.51 billion over the same period last year, the report said.
The products are mainly exported to European countries and the United States.
The exports to Europe were valued at $1.14 billion in the first half of this year, up 32 per cent and the exports to the US dropped by 2.0 per cent to $999 million as the sales to other countries rose by 25 per cent to $787 million.
Van Sou Ieng, president of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC), said, "the garment and footwear sector is expected to see a 15 per cent growth this year if production is not disrupted by any higher wage demanding protests for the rest of the year."
The sector comprises 960 factories with some 620,000 workers, according to the Ministry of Labour. It earned $5.5 billion from exports last year, accounting for about 80 per cent of the country's total exports.
Wage dispute remains hot since pro-opposition trade unions, which represent about 19 per cent of the workers, still jointly demand the government to raise monthly minimum wages for workers to $160 from the current $100.