Agricultural commodities, processing and products

Khmer New Year could bring a fruitful financial harvest for sellers of bananas—this year’s divinely selected crop—but some vendors say their sales have not yet ripened.Bananas were selected as this year’s official product by the angel Kemera Devi, who brings in the new year, so ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Monday he had urged Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to invest more heavily in Cambodia’s rice sector, while also acknowledging the need to lower rice processing costs and find new export markets to boost the competitiveness of Cambodia’s most important ...

Experts in the rice sector have expressed their fears over the ban in exporting milled rice containing the chemical Tricyclazole to the European Union (EU), while the government is trying to educate and spread word of the ban to farmers.   ...

Amid concerns that the European Union could reject shipments of Cambodian rice, exporters are pushing for more access to China as an alternative market for the Kingdom’s principal agricultural commodity. ...

Rubber prices are predicted to increase gradually as suppliers in the main producing countries restrict their stock for export to let the price recover after a long decline.   ...

Though the export of cassava from Cambodia to foreign markets increased by more than 50 percent in 2016, compared with previous years, export earnings were still low due to below-market-prices offered by buyers in Thailand and Vietnam.   ...

The banana is Cambodia’s national fruit and makes an excellent after-meal dessert. But its popularity extends further than just being a sweet fruit. Due to its affordable price, it’s also food for the poor and can be used regularly as offerings to the spirits or ...

The European Union is expected to enter Kampong Speu palm sugar into its registry of protected geographical indicators (GI) by July following a push by the Cambodian government to protect the specialty food product in one of its biggest markets, a Ministry of Commerce official ...

The Ministry of Agriculture is working to develop a procedural framework for the trade and use of biological control agents (BCAs) in agriculture in an effort to improve crop yields, protect consumer health and ensure continued access to key export markets. Regulation could also create ...

Kampot pepper and Kampong Speu palm sugar have been awarded Geographical Indication (GI) status in Thailand, under efforts to prevent unscrupulous traders passing off versions of the Cambodian products.   ...

Confirel Co. Ltd. and Pharma Product Manufacturing Enterprise will unveil its $7 million factory in Phnom Penh to process Kampong Speu palm sugar and Kampot pepper by July, the company said. ...

The public has been warned not to eat pork from Vietnam after an outbreak of a serious disease in pig farms across the border. The Agriculture Ministry’s department of animal health and production is enforcing additional precautionary measures to ensure contaminated pork from Vietnam does not ...

Pepper prices in the Kingdom’s largest pepper producing region have fallen over 30 percent in the last year due to growing international supply that is leading to higher competition in the market, an industry expert said yesterday. ...

Palm oil production is expected to drop over the next few months but instability in the international market is likely to drive down local prices by the start of next year, a Cambodian palm oil producer has warned. The price of crude palm oil in ...

Chip Mong Group is the latest conglomerate to invest into local production of animal feed, announcing this week that it will sink $60 million into building a large-scale feed mill and industrial piggery, a move that agricultural experts welcomed but said would still not be ...

More than 40 rice millers have applied for quality checks to allow for export to China but most have not yet reached a high enough standard, the Agriculture Ministry said. ...

Mong Reththy Group, an agro-industrial conglomerate that invested heavily in the mango sector, is expanding markets for exports to Russia and Hungary. Group president Mong Reththy said the new markets will increase group exports from Cambodia to 5,000 metric tons a year. ...

Cambodia has marked its first Cassava Day with expectations of greater exports to China, one of the world’s big markets for the tuberous root.   ...

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. ...