Cambodia's garment-related exports rise 7.7 pct to over 13 bln USD in Jan-Sept

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's exports of garments, textiles, footwear, and travel products reached 13.15 billion U.S. dollars in the first nine months of 2026, marking a 7.7 percent increase year-on-year, according to an official report released Friday.

The Ministry of Commerce report detailed that during the January-September period, garment exports accounted for the bulk of the trade at 9.23 billion dollars, up 6.9 percent year-on-year, while textile exports rose sharply by 21.5 percent to 614 million dollars.

Meanwhile, footwear exports grew 8 percent to 1.66 billion dollars, and travel products increased 7.6 percent to 1.65 billion dollars.

The manufacturing sector remains Cambodia's primary economic engine and largest foreign exchange earner, accounting for nearly 48 percent of the Southeast Asian nation's total export value.

Thong Mengdavid, deputy director of the China-ASEAN Studies Center at the Cambodia University of Technology and Science, attributed the steady growth to Cambodia's strategic trade partnerships.

He said that integration into the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, alongside bilateral free trade agreements with China, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates, has significantly improved market access and supply chain efficiency.

"The industry's upward trajectory is highly likely to continue, buoyed by robust external demand and a steady influx of new investments from China, South Korea, and Japan," he told Xinhua.

According to the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training, this vital manufacturing sector currently spans more than 1,800 factories and branches, employing roughly 1.1 million workers, the majority of whom are women.