The garment and textiles sector in Cambodia exported approximately 1.71 billion USD worth of commodities in the first quarter, an annual increase of 11 percent.

In the period Europe, which has introduced preferential import tariffs, surpassed the US as the biggest importer of Cambodian garments and textiles.

However, the World Bank warned that apparel from the Southeast Asian country is likely to lose out in European and other markets due to the increased exchange rate between US dollar-Cambodian Riel and domestic production cost.

The local garment and textiles sector owns some 600 factories employing more than 650,000 workers and its annual turnover equals to about one third of Cambodia’s total GDP.

In 2014, Cambodian apparel export revenue reached 5.75 billion USD and accounted for 80 percent of the nation’s overall export value.-VNA