Agricultural commodities, processing and products

Cambodia’s eastern Mondulkiri province will become the country’s first hub for potato growing after a successful pilot project, researchers say.   ...

Cambodian farmers continue to expand cassava cultivation despite falling commercial prices for the crop and low international trade volumes, new data from the Ministry of Agriculture show. ...

The Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has agreed to help Cambodia plant new high-yielding rice varieties that are also able to survive extreme climatic events. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen called for a Green Belt to be established at the country’s main tourist areas to supply holiday-makers with locally produced vegetables and meat, instead of importing them from neighboring countries. ...

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry will reinstate sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) inspections on imported goods close to 10 years after having made the commitment to the World Trade Organization (WTO). ...

Cambodians spent over $100 million on imported meat last year, further widening the gap of domestic supply as local producers failed to capture the lucrative protein market, a government official said yesterday. ...

The price of fresh cashews has jumped by about 30 percent over the price last year due to shortages of the nut and the fact that the harvest will not get into full swing until early next month. ...

With the Kingdom’s main rice harvesting season wrapping up, just a fraction of a government emergency loan package that aimed at giving millers the liquidity they needed to purchase rice paddy duringthe harvest cycle has been disbursed, leaving the government and private sector divided on ...

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is pushing mango farmers to increase their knowledge of growing the fruit before exporting to South Korea in an effort to boost production.Hean Vanhorn, deputy director general at the ministry, said at a workshop in Kampong Speu province ...

Orange farmer Say Samoeurth has been battling an invisible foe. He rarely sees his adversary, a tiny insect known as the Asian citrus psyllid, but wherever it goes this winged pest leaves behind a trail of destruction. ...

The price per kilogram of cassava exports from Cambodia has fallen this year due to plunging market prices and a lack of processing centers in the country. The price of dried cassava in northeastern Rattanakiri province is down to 410 riel (about $0.10) per kilogram and ...

The Ministry of Agriculture is calling on rice millers to apply for a second round of quality checks for exports to China after only 28 local rice mills, out of 60 which applied for inspection in the first round, passed last year. ...

Cambodia is seeking to expand its market for milled rice to Sweden and is looking for ways to cooperate further in trade and investment. ...

While international rubber prices rebounded late last year, Cambodia’s exports in 2016, however, remained relatively unchanged compared with 2015, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. ...

With the start of the dry harvest season for cassava kicking off, farmers are calling for the government to support the struggling sector with initiatives to address recurring capital shortages and market volatility. ...

Close to 2,000 chickens from Thailand were confiscated by Pursat provincial authorities after they were found to have been illegally brought into Cambodia. ...

Cambodia’s beleaguered rubber industry looks set for a turnaround as international rubber prices continue their strong rebound. Local traders and industry officials said yesterday they were optimistic that rubber prices, which doubled during the course of 2016, would continue to rise as the global economy ...

Cambodian farmers may be able to cut export costs from the middle of the year if an agreement is signed letting them send their produce through the Thai port of Laem Chabang. ...

The government has removed the fee for inspection services on milled rice slated for export, aiming to reduce the cost of Cambodia’s rice and increase its competitiveness in international markets. ...

Two rice millers, which had passed initial inspections, were deemed ineligible to export rice to China after failing quality and food hygiene tests applied by Chinese experts. ...

An Agriculture Ministry official said on Sunday that slowing growth in Cambodian milled rice exports—increasing just 0.7 percent last year—was the result of outdated policies and was a concerning trend. ...

Kampot pepper prices are set to remain stable for another year as part of an agreement between local producers that caps prices through the end of 2017, a representative of the pepper association said yesterday. ...

Four companies have responded to a government tender for a project to develop a mammoth rice storage and processing facility in Battambang province, a bank executive said yesterday. ...

Cambodia’s milled rice exports only grew by a dismal 0.7 percent last year compared with 2015 and this was the lowest since 2014, according to government figures released yesterday. “Last year Cambodia only exported 542,144 tons of milled rice and the lowest exports were in the ...