PHNOM PENH -- Cambodia exported garment, footwear and travel products (GFT) worth 3,763 million U.S. dollars in the first four months of 2024, up 17 percent from the 3,211 million dollars reported a year earlier, said a report released by the Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday.

Apparel and textiles accounted for 2,748 million dollars during the January-April period, up 20.4 percent year on year, the report said.

Footwear represented 453.7 million dollars, up 3.8 percent from a year earlier, while travel goods accounted for 562 million dollars, up 14 percent year on year, the report said.

Speaking at a press conference on Cambodia's economic outlook for 2024 last month, Poullang Doung, Asian Development Bank-Cambodia's senior economics officer, said the GFT sector would contribute a part to Cambodia's economic growth projected at 5.8 percent this year.

He said the outlook for GFT exports is "positive" and that the GFT export has gained momentum since the last quarter of 2023.

The GFT industry is the largest foreign exchange earner for the Southeast Asian country.

The sector currently involves about 1,680 factories and branches, employing approximately 918,000 workers, mostly females, according to the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training.