Cambodia's garment-related exports reached $11.76bn in January–August 2026

Apparel and textiles remained the largest part of the total

Apparel and textile exports reached $8.78bn between January and August, up 7.3% from the same period in 2025. Footwear exports increased 7.5% to $1.5bn, while travel goods rose 6.5% to $1.48bn.

Together, the categories produced the $11.76bn total, compared with $10.97bn a year earlier. The direction is positive, although the pace is much slower than the roughly 19% year-on-year increase reported for the comparable sector total in January–August 2025.

These are separate issues. The latest reading points to continued expansion, but not to a fresh acceleration of the kind seen a year ago.

For practical context, see Cambodia market and country comparisons. This development also connects with Cambodia exports rise 18% to $17.36bn in first half of 2026.

The sector still carries unusually large economic weight

A 48% share of export value makes the industry relevant far beyond factory owners. Xinhua also cited Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training data showing more than 1,800 factories and branches employing around 1.1 million people, most of them women.

For someone assessing Cambodia as a place to work, relocate or build a business, the scale of that employment base is part of the economic picture. It supports supplier networks and household incomes, but national export growth does not mean every industrial area is expanding at the same rate.

**Export value cannot answer the local jobs or housing question**

A higher export figure tells us that more value was shipped abroad. It does not tell us how much profit factories retained after labour, energy and logistics costs, whether headcount rose, or whether wages increased at a similar pace.

The same caution applies to local housing and rental demand. A national increase of 7.2% is not enough evidence to assume that rents near a particular industrial estate will rise or that every factory district is adding workers. Those questions require local data on hiring, payrolls, factory openings and closures, and actual occupancy.

For businesses, the report is a useful signal that external demand for a core Cambodian export industry remains substantial. For workers and residents, it is economic context rather than a substitute for checking conditions in the specific place that matters to them.