Exports saw a more than 40 per cent increase year-on-year between January and September, hitting about US$3.6 billion, according to Ministry of Commerce statistics.
Garment Workers in Cambodian textile factory
Need for diversification.
While sovereign debt crises in Europe and a lagging US economy have yet to curtail cheap Cambodian exports, industry watchers said domestic producers should diversify their target markets to avoid a future slow down.
Shipments of garments and textiles to the European Union increased by more than 75 per cent during the first nine months of the year compared to last year, according to the ministry. Garment exports to the US increased by about 30 per cent.
Cambodia: Making Adidas apparel for the 2012 Olympics - Photo by: Will Baxter
Orders for the 2012 London Olympics.
Shen Zhou International Group Holdings Ltd, one of China’s largest apparel exporters, makes in Phnom Penh, Cambodia shirts and other sportswear for Adidas that will supply the 2012 games.
Shen Zhou’s Cambodian factory produces more than 300,000 garments per month for Adidas, or about 25 per cent of the factory’s 1.3 million garment-per-month capacity.
Sources:
- http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011102052246/Business/exports-up-despite-eu-crisis.html
- http://www.ki-media.co.cc/2011/10/ki-media-exports-up-despite-eu-crisis.html
- http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011101952197/Business/kingdom-factory-goes-for-the-gold.html