The government is calling on international buyers to increase
investment in the garment and footwear sector and to introduce new technologies
to help modernise the industry, according to a senior official from the
Ministry of Commerce (MoC).Speaking during a meeting on Tuesday
with representatives from global clothing brands and unions, MoC’s secretary of
state Ok Bung said the garment sector is burdened by low productivity brought
about by outdated technology, which sinks the country into low positions within
global value chains.
“I would like to request all buyers to participate in the investment
and transfer of new technologies to the sector in order to help boost our
exports,” Mr Bung said.H&M, Next, C&A, Debenhams, Inditex,
Kmart-Australia and Primark were some of the global companies represented at
Tuesday’s meeting, as well as international union federation IndustriALL.Frank Hoffer, the executive director of Action, Collaboration and
Transformation (ACT), who spoke on behalf of participating global brands, said
one of their priorities as buyers is to strengthen cooperation among all
stakeholders in the garment and textile industry.ACT is an initiative between
international brands and retailers, manufacturers and trade unions to address
the issue of living wages in the textile and garment supply chain.
Mr Hoffer especially asked for enhanced discussion with the government on the
state of the industry.He requested the MoC’s support to set up a workshop with
buyers, unions, factory owners and government agencies to hear from all sides
and collectively prepare a strategy to guide development in the sector.“I would also like all stakeholders to aim for a healthy balance between
minimum wage and productivity that would benefit workers, as well as buyers and
factory owners,” Mr Hoffer said.Ken Loo, the secretary-general of GMAC, said recently that garment
exports will be expanding at a rate of five percent by the end of the year,
adding that he expects similar growth in coming years if certain issues hindering
the industry are addressed.
He said issues now hampering the sector include high production costs, low
productivity and access to a limited number of markets.“If we take care of
these issues, the industry will continue to grow,” he said.“When the minimum
wage is raised to $170 in January, more factories will encounter difficulties
if things don’t change. We hope there is a change in productivity, a reduction
in the cost of doing business and new governmental policies to help investors,”
he added.
According to the MoC’s figures, Cambodia’s total export volume reached $9
billion during the first nine months of the year. Eighty percent of that trade
consisted of garments or footwear.In 2016, Cambodia’s garment
and footwear industry had 786 factories and a workforce of more than 700,000
people. The main export markets for Cambodian garments are the EU, the US,
China, New Zealand and Japan.
Source: Khmer Times, Cambodia Friday, 17 November 2017