Exports from the Garment Sector Drop Dramatically in the First Quarter of 2009 – Tuesday, 9.6.2009

Posted on 10 June 2009
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 616
http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/

“According to a repor from the Ministry of Commerce, the garment industry of Cambodia is recently facing a serious crisis due to the global economic crisis. The export of garments to international markets dropped, as there are less buying orders than before. However, it is expected that the situation will recover soon.

“According to the report, the export of garments to foreign countries fell sharply in March 2009 by about 38%, something which had never happened before. In February 2009, it declined by 18.60% and was worth only US$189.21 million. In January 2009, it dropped by 20.89% and was worth US$181.09 million. In December 2008, it had dropped by 13.64% and was still worth US$222.10 million, and in November 2008, with a drop of only 0.89% it was worth US$218.30 million.

“Based on this report, the export of garments to foreign countries started to drop in July and September 2008. So far, the United States of America is still the biggest and most important market for the export of the textile industry of Cambodia, but the export of the United States decreases while the export to Japan increases. In the meantime, the export of shoes to important markets in the European Union and in the Middle East increased to about US$6.5 million.

“As said in the report, the garment industry of Cambodia has encountered a downturn since July 2008 and the drop was sharp and alarming in March 2009.

“The president of the Cambodian Free Trade Union of Workers, Mr. Chea Mony, told Deum Ampil that due to the global economic crisis, more than 50,000 workers lost their jobs and 47 factories, with which the trade union worked, closed, while 7 new factories opened. He added that the 7 factories are just among those which had closed, and they relocated to new places [in the outskirts of the city] in order to escape from the labor law of Cambodia [some factories had declared bancrupcy and then they do not need to take responsibility to pay the final salaries of the workers]. However, the Cambodian Free Trade Union of Workers acknowledged that the report of the Ministry of Commerce has many points they agree with.

“The Royal Government of Cambodia has released much capital to salvage the situation which result from the global economic crisis which made some garment factories to close, making workers unemployed. Some former workers are trained in professional skills, so that they can find new jobs or run their own business in their localities.”

Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #205, 9.6.2009
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Tuesday, 9 June 2009