Cambodian garment exports drop by half

AustralianNetworkNews.com

Cambodia's Commerce Minister (pictured) has revealed that the value of garment exports has dropped by half because of the global economic downturn.

Cham Prasidh says more than a dozen factories have closed since the start of the year, as exports to the United States, Cambodia's biggest market for textiles, have plummeted.

He's told a conference in Phnom Penh on the impact of the economic crisis, that Cambodia used to export around $US 200 million worth of garments month, but in February it was half that.

Cambodia's garment industry is the country's largest source of income, providing 80 percent of its foreign exchange earnings and employing an estimated 350,000 people last year.

Meanwhile, the Cambodian Free Trade Union, the country's largest workers' group, says more than 40,000 garment factory workers have lost their jobs since last year.