Cambodia's garment exports to ASEAN negligible after 4 years of RCEP

ASEAN is a bloc of Asian countries, including Brunei Darussalam, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. RCEP, signed in 2020 with China's leadership, includes ASEAN countries along with New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and China itself. The trade pact mandates free trade within RCEP members. In the context of textile and garment trade, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam are major exporting nations, while New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and China are key importers of textile products. However, major traditional garment-importing countries, particularly in Europe and North America, are not part of this trade pact.

Despite the trade agreement, Cambodia’s garment exports to ASEAN countries remain very low. In the first eight months of the current year, only 1.84 per cent of Cambodia's total garment exports of $7.539 billion were shipped to ASEAN countries, according to Fibre2Fashion's market insight tool TexPro.

Cambodia’s apparel exports to ASEAN were valued at $151.788 million in 2021, shortly after the RCEP agreement. This figure rose by nearly 32 per cent to $200.755 million in 2022 and increased slightly to $207.737 million in 2023. In contrast, Cambodia’s total apparel exports were recorded at $10.481 billion in 2021, $12.903 billion in 2022, and $11.259 billion in 2023.

According to TexPro, Cambodia imported $3.353 billion worth of fabric between January and August 2024 to support its garment industry. However, fabric imports from ASEAN countries amounted to only $133.467 million, accounting for just 3.96 per cent of total fabric imports. Cambodia’s fabric imports were valued at $4.304 billion in 2021, $4.409 billion in 2022, and $4.021 billion in 2023.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)