Cambodia’s exports from January 2022 to August 2022 were up 26 percent compared to the same period in 2021.

The total value of the country’s international trade rose by 21 percent. Imports increased by 18 percent during the period. Exports increased by 37 per cent.

The US is the biggest market for Cambodia’s products. Vietnam and China are the second and third markets. Garment, footwear, and travel goods have the country’s biggest share of total exports, but the non-garment product exports are on a significant increase.

New factories opening up are viewed as investors’ high confidence. Promulgated investment law and free trade pacts bilaterally and multilaterally are also factors that have opened the markets for Cambodia-made products as well as attracted new foreign direct investments.

But due to the signs of an impending recession in the US and Europe, demand and purchase orders have seen significant drops in the second half of 2022.A quarter of garment manufacturers in Cambodia are looking to partially suspend operations in September or may require their workers to work less hours. Operations in some 100 factories are suspended, affecting around 10,000 workers.The entire sector, consisting over 1,200 garment, travel goods and footwear manufacturers, employs about one million workers.