Crop products and commodities

Although data for first four months of this year have shown a slight rise in rice exports, millers and exporters continue to raise concerns on the back of April’s rapid decline. ...

More than a month has elapsed since the government vowed to strengthen its borders to halt illegal imports of rice, yet little has been done to stem the flow of illicit rice shipments flooding into Cambodia from its foreign neighbours and undermining the export efforts ...

The Cambodian Rice Federation (CRF) will officially register the name “Angkor Malis” in June as the umbrella brand for the Kingdom’s premium varieties of fragrant rice, a representative said yesterday. ...

Mango growers now have access to the South Korean market following an agreement signed on Friday between officials from Korea and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. ...

A sharp rebound in international rubber prices has put workers at plantations in Cambodian back to work, and has infused the sector with a rare sense of optimism. ...

Unusually high yields of salt production in Kep and Kampot province have surpassed the market’s low demand, filling the nation’s salt storage facilities to capacity, the head of a local industry body said yesterday.   ...

Cambodia does not expect to win the contract to supply half million tons of rice to the Philippines during the bidding process that will take place in the upcoming months, citing high production costs as the major constraint in competing with neighboring Vietnam and Thailand, ...

Climate change and globalisation are fuelling an explosion in the pests and diseases that afflict south-east Asia’s cassava crops, threatening a multi-billion dollar industry and the staple food of millions of people, a report warns. ...

Mong Reththy, known as the king of agriculture in Cambodia for his role running the large Mong Reththy Group, aims to expand the Kingdom’s mango market to Europe. ...

Villagers from Preah Vihear’s Kulen district, where last week two rubber company guard posts were torched, yesterday alleged security guards from the same company had looted their homes and threatened to burn them. ...

The government decided to drop a 10 percent value added-tax (VAT) for rice products during a meeting on Wednesday between representatives of the rice sector and government officials at the Council for the Development of Cambodia in Phnom Penh, officials said.   ...

The newly established special industry committee to deal with the crisis confronting the rice sector will meet Deputy Prime Minister Keat Chhon today to discuss urgent solutions to the problems they face. ...

Kampong Speu palm sugar production is predicted to slightly decrease this year due to a late start, climate change, water shortages and working capital for farmers, but prices are expected to rise due to the sugar’s growing popularity since its geographical indication certification. ...

The Ministry of Agriculture has rejected a request from private-sector rubber firms – led by agricultural tycoon Mong Reththy – for a meeting to discuss the floundering fortunes of the nation’s rubber sector, claiming the ministry was busy and was already addressing the issue. ...

Thirteen provinces across the country have finished harvesting their dry season rice and yields have increased on last year’s crop, but local millers and exporters are concerned about the bulk of the crop making its way to a neighboring country.   ...

Yon Kob’s cassava fields in Sala Krao district have usually been harvested by now, but this year the thicket of thin, knobby cassava plants is still standing. Mr. Kob has delayed his harvest in the hope that the price of the tuber would rise, but ...

The Commerce Ministry has created a special taskforce to study challenges threatening the sustainability of the nation’s rice industry and will report its findings within two weeks, a ministry official said yesterday. ...

The Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) on Thursday met with the Ministry of Commerce to discuss policies for strengthening the country’s ailing rice industry, and unveiled a plan to develop a price-support mechanism to guarantee Cambodia’s rice export price, officials said. ...

Cambodia’s exports of crude palm oil have increased, though the price has declined in line with falling global prices, according to an official and a producer. ...

Cambodia’s rubber industry’s woes have begun to crystallise after two major rubber plantations announced deep losses yesterday, attributing their downturn to high production costs and a drop in global rubber prices. ...

Palm sugar from Kampong Speu, which has been registered for geographical indication (GI) status, is in the processing stage of being granted protected geographical indication (PGI) status in Thailand and Vietnam. This comes after Kampot pepper was recently certified as PGI in the European Union ...

A week after an alliance of millers and exporters criticized the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) for its inaction in the face of the sector’s possible collapse, the federation Wednesday announced the formation of a new task force to manage challenges facing its members. ...

Responding to criticism, Cambodia’s apex rice industry body announced yesterday that it would submit a plan to Prime Minister Hun Sen that addresses two of the major challenges facing the Kingdom’s rice sector – competition from rice imports and access to finance for millers. ...

The president of the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) has asked the government for an emergency loan of $20 million to $30 million, saying it is necessary to prevent the collapse of the rice sector. ...