Cambodia’s pepper takes off
Through a canopy of palm leaves, sunlight falls onto 1,000 four-month-old pepper plants, each one climbing about two feet up a wooden pole in the ground. … “We will be ready to harvest pepper from here in about 18 to 20 months,” says one of Kep province’s farmers, Ngoun Preung, proudly looking out over his half-a-hectare plantation. On the small strip of land, 20 evenly spaced plants are lined up in each of the 50 rows. Preung’s harvest will be part of a record-shattering yield forecast by the Kampot Pepper Promotion Association, which represents farmers in both Kampot and Kep provinces. The association’s president, Ngoun Lay, says the amount of land now under cultivation in the southern coastal growing region is triple what it was a few years ago. Prior to 2013, close to 32 hectares of land were home to pepper plants. In 2014, the cultivation area has reached more than 90 hectares, largely due to the presence of new foreign investors, Lay said. Companies from Japan, India and a conglomerate of investors from Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and China are pouring money into pepper plantations, mostly in joint ventures with local partners. …
Daniel de Carteret and Chan Muy Hong
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/cambodia%E2%80%99s-pepper-takes
