Cambodia 2005 garment exports at 2.2 bln usd, up 10 pct – ILO
Forbes
PHNOM PENH (XFN_ASIA) – Cambodia’s garment and textile exports in 2005 rose 10 pct to nearly 2.2 bln usd, topping 2 bln usd for the first time, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said.
‘This data is very encouraging,’ said Ros Harvey, chief technical advisor for ILO Better Factories Cambodia.
‘We are seeing a steady growth in the sector. However there are still many challenges ahead for the industry,’ she said in a statement.The boom created nearly 30,000 new jobs in a sector that was thought doomed after the end of an international quota system in Jan 2005, the ILO said.
Under the 30-year-old multi-fiber arrangement (MFA), Cambodia was given special access to the US market through a 1999 trade deal that granted quotas in return for improved labor conditions monitored by the UN’s labour agency.
The arrangement was hailed by international buyers, such as Gap Inc, which helped local manufacturers to mold an image of themselves as responsible corporate citizens who eschewed ‘sweatshop’ labour.
Building on this reputation, and with the help of US and European Union safeguards enacted after the end of the MFA, Cambodia has been able to salvage its garment sector, with the number of factories increasing by 13 pct to around 240.
But the ILO said the average price-per-piece fell just over 4 pct, reflecting a world-wide trend and putting added pressure for Cambodia to remain competitive.
‘We need to build on the successes and further improve labor standards and productivity in the industry. This is not a trade-off,’ Harvey said.
Garments account for 80 pct of Cambodia’s export earnings and the sector employs around 279,000 people, mostly women from the rural areas.
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