Exports fall 26.4pc in July as crisis in Kingdom continues

The garment sector, responsible for about 90 percent of Cambodia's exports, has been severely hit this year. Photo by: TRACEY SHELTON

Wednesday, 26 August 2009
By Chun Sophal
The Phnom Penh Post

Latest government figures show deterioration on export data from June, when total exports fell an annualised 17.5 percent.

FIGURES released Tuesday by the Kingdom's import-export inspection body showed July exports plummeted an annualised 26.4 percent, a larger decrease than in June, suggesting the worst of the economic crisis is not yet over for Cambodia.

After showing a fall of 17.5 percent in June, Camcontrol figures indicated that exports fell to US$249.94 million last month from $339.43 million in the same period last year, meaning that the garment industry, which is responsible for about 90 percent of Cambodia's total exports, had not yet overcome the worst of the drop in global demand, particularly in key markets the United States and Europe.

"The decline in exports has affected Cambodia's economy since the beginning of the year and is not something new," said Chan Sophal, president of the Cambodia Economic Association.

"If this situation continues, the economic crisis in our country will get unavoidably worse and worse." Aside from garments, the Kingdom's next largest export is agricultural products such as corn, beans and rubber.

Last week, the Ministry of Commerce said that garment exports had fallen 18 percent in the first half of the year to $1.27 billion, compared with $1.54 billion in the same period in 2008.

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