The Changing Landscape of Manufacturing in Cambodia
Eang Khoing Pav (left), General Manager & Phet “Por” Sopanhchakpor (right), Digital Printing and Sublimation Development Manager
Fibers of Pactics is a 4-part capsule series, produced by Population, in which employees and management at Pactics share their invaluable perspectives on the manufacturing industry in Cambodia.
On the first part of Fibers of Pactics, Dorian van der Mullen and Kelsey Tsuchiyama sit down with Phet Sopanhchakpor (also known as Por), Pactics’ Digital Printing and Sublimation Development Manager, and Eang Khoing Pav, Pactics' General Manager, to discuss the changes they’ve witnessed in Cambodia’s manufacturing industry in the past 20 years and what they hope for the future.
Por first moved to Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital, to study chemical engineering and food science at university. She lived there for around ten years where she worked for Raytecs, Pactics’ former daughter company. It was there that she first got the chance to work in garment manufacturing to explore digital printing and dye sublimation and design. Her main reason for taking jobs is for the opportunity to grow and be a part of a larger change, which she got at Raytecs.
Mr. Khoing also lived in Phnom Penh for several years after finishing his undergraduate and graduate studies in Prey Veng province. He started with Artisans Angkor where he worked as a Production Assistant and eventually became Production Director. Mr. Khoing notes that where on traditional industrial lines the focus is on how to use technology to make products cheaper, Artisans Angkor focuses on handmade. It is a social business providing jobs to Cambodians based in local provinces with the goal of reviving traditional Cambodian crafts such as silk weaving and sewing, stone carving, wood carving, lacquering, polychromy.
Changing Environments
Following the end of the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1990’s, Cambodia’s textile and garment industry grew rapidly. Mr. Khoing views this growth as having a primarily positive impact both on the country and the people. He explains that prior to 1990, most people were working on rice fields, but with the expansion of the industry, there are more jobs. There is also the opportunity for the country’s economy to grow. However, the growth of the industry has also had negative impacts on the environment such as pollution.
EuroCham Cambodia reports that “over 60 percent of Cambodia’s garment factories are located within – or in close proximity to – Phnom Penh”. However, from the time Por first moved to the city in 2010, she saw that more factories were being built near and around Phnom Penh; factories would either move operations completely or build new locations in other provinces. She attributes this to not just the growth of the garment industry, but also other industries and investors acquiring land in Phnom Penh thereby increasing the price of land.
Por explains several benefits of this development. Moving factories out of the capital relieves the pressure on the city so there is less traffic and pollution. This also creates more job opportunities for people living in the provinces, especially ones that might not be able to afford to move to the city in search of jobs.
Industry Partners
Both Por and Mr. Khoing stress the importance of Better Factories Cambodia (BFC), a program started by the UN’s International Labor Organization in partnership with the Royal Government of Cambodia, the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia and trade unions, in improving conditions in Cambodia. Por notes that there is still work to be done for factories to meet international standards and BFC can support factories to ensure they are compliant.
To learn more about how Phet Sopanhchakpor and Eang Khoing Pav view the complexities of the growth of manufacturing in Cambodia and what is crucial moving forward, check out the first part of Fibers of Pactics.