Agricultural commodities, processing and products

The large-scale rubber plantations that arrived in force in Cambodia a decade ago as global rubber prices moved to historic peaks are facing sober prospects as trees they planted before the commodity’s prices headed south begin to reach maturity. ...

At least 17,571 hectares of rice fields were affected by the recent floods – of which about 3,186 hectares were severely damaged, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) yesterday, which urged all provincial agriculture departments to immediately evaluate the affects from ...

In an effort to help small and medium-sized rice millers and exporters that are presently unable to provide suitable collateral to qualify for the government’s emergency $27 million rice loan, the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) has joined with the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) to ...

The government’s much-heralded $27 million emergency rice fund, announced last month amid complaints from rice farmers and millers that cheap competition and low-storage capacity was driving down prices, has so far had only limited takers among rice millers. ...

Cambodia is close to signing an ambitious agreement with the Indonesian government that would pave the way for the Kingdom’s rice producers to export 1 million tonnes of rice under a new quota scheme, a state official said yesterday. ...

A rising global demand for dates is behind the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in Phnom Penh yesterday between companies from Cambodia, Thailand and Israel, seeking to start growing the fruit in Cambodia within the next 10 years. ...

Extreme weather attributed to the tail-end of an El Niño event continues to wreak havoc on the nation’s agricultural sector, with more than 20,000 hectares of rice fields damaged so far this year, a government agricultural expert said yesterday. ...

Rubber exports have continued to rise in the first nine months of the year, despite the fall and current stagnation of prices as global demand continues to stall, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF). ...

Ente Nazionale Risi (ENR), Italy’s national rice agency, has raised concern over increased European rice imports from countries such as Cambodia, according to rice industry publication Oryza. ...

Kampong Speu province will soon be home to a Chinese-funded agricultural special economic zone (SEZ) with facilities to research plant diseases, after the Ministry of Agriculture and Tian Rui (Cambodia) Agricultural Cooperation SEZ Co., signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) yesterday. ...

The damage to the country’s rice crops from the recent heavy rains is likely to be small, according to provincial officials, as the Agriculture Ministry stressed that flood damage to rice crops was under control. As the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology continue to warn ...

Cambodia’s three-year reign as holder of the World’s Best Rice Award came to an end last year, but the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) is confident it will regain the title at next month’s ceremony in Thailand. CRF Secretary-General Moul Sarith told Khmer Times yesterday that they ...

Amid increased demand for oranges grown in Battambang province, the Ministry of Agriculture is seeking to have the fruit’s unique and sought-after flavor recognized under the European Union’s geographical identification (GI) status. Ministry spokesperson Lor Reaksmey explained that the application process, involving ministry officials and international ...

Kampot pepper sales both locally and internationally have continued to be strong since gaining coveted geographical indication (GI) status from the European Union in February, while domestic pepper competitors have complained of falling prices, industry figures said yesterday. Kampot Pepper Promotion Association president, Nguon Lay, told ...

The minister of commerce, Pan Sorasak, met with officials from the Chinese-based Jilin Provincial Investment Group Co Ltd yesterday to discuss strengthening rice-processing infrastructure in the Kingdom. ...

As part of ongoing efforts to boost exports of Cambodian mangoes, the Mong Rithy Group, an agro-industrial conglomerate that is heavily invested in the mango sector, announced yesterday that it was in negotiations to import drying machinery, which would greatly increase production of dried mango ...

Three weeks since Prime Minister Hun Sen approved $27 million in emergency loans to prop up the struggling rice sector, the state-owned bank charged with disbursing the funds said yesterday that it has only granted $1 million in loans, claiming that the number of eligible ...

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Cambodia next week will likely lead to an increase in agriculture exports to China, Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday.​ Speaking at a graduation ceremony for law and economics students in Phnom Penh yesterday morning, Mr. Hun Sen said that ...

The Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) has submitted a proposal to the government for the setting up of a joint executive financial committee to ensure that the $27 million emergency loan to rice millers to purchase paddy rice from farmers, in a bid to prevent rice ...

The state-owned bank entrusted with extending $27 million in emergency loans to millers to purchase rice paddy has marginally lowered the interest rate on these conditional loans in an effort to shorten some of the strings attached. The Rural Development Bank (RDB) announced late on Sunday ...

The government has asked China to make good on its pledge to buy 200,000 tons of rice annually from the Kingdom and also to speed up the approval of a $300 million loan to the country’s beleaguered rice sector. This request was made yesterday during a ...

Indonesia would consider buying more rice from Cambodia if the price was more competitive, the Indonesian ambassador to Cambodia told reporters after the Indonesian Trade and Tourism Promotion 2016 expo in Phnom Penh on Friday. Ambassador Pitono Purnomo said that Cambodia and Indonesia signed a ...

As the government scrambles to buoy a rice sector suffering from crashing paddy prices and fierce international competition, Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday lauded the government officials and “generous businesspeople” who heeded calls for emergency funds. ...

The country’s financial institutions are closely monitoring loans that have been made to rice farmers, who say that this year’s fall in rice prices will affect their ability to make repayments, industry officials said yesterday. Last year, farmers were paid around 840 riel ($0.21) per kilogram ...