With its pillar textiles industry suffering from lack of sales abroad, and reduced tourism numbers projected for 2009, Cambodia faces dire challenges from the global financial crisis.
An annual IMF review said the crisis will potentially affect economic activity, capital inflows and the banking system in the southeast Asian country. The impact on the garment industry is already being felt. As was recently reporting by NPR, two-thirds of Cambodia’s export earnings come from the garment industry, which employs about 360,000 people — almost all of them women.
With demand for garments dropping, these workers are losing what was once thought of as a steady, good-paying job. NPR sites Whitex Garments in Phnom Penh; Six months ago, the factory had more than 500 workers in the packing department alone, manager David Teo says. Now, there are fewer than 300.