Garment Exports to EU Catching Up With US

The value of garment and shoe exports to the European Union are expected to reach the same level as those sent to the U.S. by 2013, an official from the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) said yesterday. Garment, textile and shoe exports to the E.U. totaled $1.3 billion last year, while exports to the U.S. were about $2.1 billion, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce. Exports to the U.S. and E.U. in the first six months of 2012 were valued at $951 million and $644 million respectively. But Keo Loo, GMAC’s secretary-general, said the E.U. market was fast becoming a larger market thanks to the 27-member bloc dropping all of its tariffs on imports from Cambodia. …