Prospects for the Textile and Clothing Industry in Cambodia, 2023

This report looks at the development of the textile and clothing industry in Cambodia and the industry's size and structure, and it features:

• a geographical, political and economic profile;
• a detailed look at the country's imports and exports;
• a review of government policies and investment incentives;
• an analysis of the industry's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT);
• and an examination of Cambodia's infrastructure and human resources and how these affect the industry.

The textile and clothing industry fulfils a crucial role in Cambodia's economy, and the clothing industry alone represents Cambodia's largest manufacturing sector. It employs over 600,000 people directly and well above a million people if indirect employees are taken into account. Furthermore, it is Cambodia's largest source of foreign exchange, and in recent years clothing exports have accounted for as much as half of the country's total exports.

The clothing industry benefits considerably from Cambodia's status as a least developed country (LDC) as this provides it with duty-free and quota-free access to the major global markets. It also benefits from an abundant supply of cheap labour in the country, and the Cambodian government has implemented policies which are aimed at attracting substantial foreign direct investment (FDI).

Despite these advantages, however, the textile and clothing industry in Cambodia is almost completely dependent on imports of textiles and this represents a major weakness. Also, the industry is limited mainly to low added value cut, make and trim (CMT) operations. Furthermore, concerns have been raised regarding worrying political developments and the impact that these developments have had, and may continue to have, on the country's textile and clothing industry.