The garment industry, Cambodia's largest income earner, reported 2.51 billion US dollars in export value in the first six months of this year, a 19.5 percent rise from $2.1 billion over the same period last year, the figures of the Commerce Ministry showed Wednesday.

Cambodian apparels are mostly sold to the United States and European countries, with some to Canada, Japan, South Korea and China.

The figures said that from January to June this year, the garment exports to the United States were valued at $1.02 billion, up 10 percent year-on-year. The exports to the European nations were 862 million dollars worth, up 27 percent, and the exports to other countries were $629 million, up 27 percent.

"Our garment products are mainly reliant on the US and European markets, so our export growth demonstrates better economic situations in those countries," Khuon Savuth, an official at the Commerce Ministry's Import-Export Inspection and Fraud Repression Department, said Wednesday.

According to the figures, garment export accounted for 80 percent of the country's total exports.

The industry is comprised of about 500 factories with some 510, 600 workers. A worker's monthly minimum wage is 80 dollars.

In 2012, the impoverished Southeast Asian nation earned 4.6 billion dollars from garment exports.