GFT exports rise 17 percent in first half of 2024
GFT exports rise 17 percent in first half of 2024
Cambodia’s exports of garments, footwear and travel goods (GFT) increased by 16.89 percent in the first half of this year, compared to the same period last year, earning the country $6.15 billion, according to the trade data released by the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE) recently.
GFT exports, the mainstay of Cambodia’s economy, made a turnaround this year after declining continuously for nearly 18 months since mid-2022, resulting in factory closures and job losses.
The Cambodian economy depends heavily on the GFT sector for not just exports but also for employing nearly one million people. As much as 50 percent of Cambodia’s total export earnings of $12.29 billion in the January to June 2024 period came from GFT goods.
The turnaround has brought a big relief for the Cambodian government which was providing monetary support for the workers in the sector who lost jobs following factory closures or suspension of work.
According to the latest GDCE data, all segments under the GFT sector performed well in the first half of 2024, raising exports, compared to the same period last year.
Accordingly, the exports of knitted apparel articles and clothing accessories earned $2.79 billion, registering a growth of 13 percent, compared to January-June 2023. Non-knitted apparel articles brought in $1.53 billion with a growth of 30.1 percent year-on-year.
Footwear exports earned $774 million, an increase of 10.5 percent year-on-year, and articles of leather and travel goods another $948 million with a growth of 13.5 percent over the same period.
Other made-up textile articles earned $102 million from January to June 2024, registering a growth of 36.8 percent, compared to the same period last year.
In June 2024 alone, the GFT exports earned the country $1.26 billion, a rise of 4.21 percent, compared to June 2023.
Ken Loo, the Secretary General of the Textile, Apparel, Footwear & Travel Goods Association in Cambodia (TAFTAC), told Khmer Times recently that the sector is on the path of recovery as global demand is rising.
The exports of knitted apparel articles and clothing accessories, however, showed a negative growth of 1.7 percent in June 2024, compared to the same month last year. The exports of travel goods also showed a negative trend in June 2024 compared to June 2023 and declined by 5.6 percent.
The exports of non-knitted apparel articles rose 21.9 percent and footwear 12 percent in June 2024, compared to June 2023.
The GFT sector is one of the biggest employment generators in the country and has created nearly one million direct jobs, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The sector accounted for 11 percent of the economy and contributed around 50 percent of Cambodia’s real GDP growth as per its estimates in 2021.
It may be recalled that Cambodia’s GFT exports declined by 13.31 percent in 2023 amidst global challenges, from $12.80 billion earned in 2022 to $11.09 billion, leading to the suspension of work for many factory employees.
The decline in GFT goods exports began in the latter half of 2022 and continued last year too even as almost all other sectors registered growth in exports in 2023. The decline followed a drop in international demand due to various reasons including geo-political developments and inflationary pressures.
The Cambodian government in March 2023 started providing an allowance of $40 a month to each worker in the GFT sector whose labour contract was suspended following the slowdown in global demand. This was in addition to the $30 given to each suspended worker by the factory management.
