Cambodian garment sector may be at risk: Commerce Minister

Cambodia’s competitor nations including Vietnam and Myanmar have recently proposed free-trade agreements with the US and EU, which may reduce the number of orders for the garment sector in Cambodia, Mr. Prasidh said at a press conference.

The Commerce Minister pointed out that the country’s garment sector will be at risk if Vietnam begins to export its garments to the US without paying any taxes, while the Cambodian garments are continued to be taxed.

Hence, the trade partners from the US, EU and other regions will shift their orders from Cambodia to other countries who have signed the duty-free agreements, Mr. Prasidh added.

According to the Minister, Myanmar has began negotiations with the US and EU, and is likely to enter a trade agreement with them soon. The competing nation’s garment industry benefits from the low electricity tariff and has lesser number of strikes and protests as compared to Cambodia, which will be an advantage for the importers as well.

The exports of Cambodian garments have recently shown tremendous growth with an increase of 17.5 percent year-on-year to reach US$ 1.34 billion during the first three months of the current year.

The garment sector of Cambodia accounts for about 80 percent of the country’s overall exports.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India