PHNOM PENH, April 27 (Xinhua) -- More than 130 garment, footwear and travel goods factories in Cambodia have suspended operations due to a sharp decline in purchase orders caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, a labor ministry's spokesman said here on Monday.
Labor Ministry secretary of state and spokesman Heng Sour said most of these products are exported to European countries and the United States, but these countries are currently being hit hard by the COVID-19, which leads to a sharply decline in demand.
"As of today (April 27), more than 130 factories have requested to suspend operations, affecting nearly 100,000 workers," he said at a press conference.
Sour said factories in the kingdom have not received purchase orders from potential buyers for April, May and June, but some factories are still in operations and keeping their final products in warehouses in hope that the demand will bounce back when the global situation of COVID-19 is stabilized.
"We think that our export in the second quarter of this year can drop between 50 and 60 percent over the same period last year," he said.
According to the spokesman, to help the affected workers, the government decided to pay 40 U.S. dollars a month to each of them in addition to subsidies from factory employers to help them during the production suspension.
The garment, footwear and travel goods industry is the kingdom's biggest export sector, employing about 750,000 people in approximately 1,100 factories and branches, according to the Labor Ministry.
The sector earned gross revenue of 9.32 billion U.S. dollars last year, up 11 percent compared to the year before.
Cambodia has so far recorded a total of 122 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 119 patients cured, Health Minister Mam Bunheng said on Monday. Enditem
