Cambodia’s rice under fire
Amid falling local production in Italy, officials there are calling on the European Union to scrap a preferential trade agreement that gives Cambodia’s rice exports duty-free advantages in the global market. According to a January 31 report from rice industry publication Oryza, members of the Italian government and the country’s rice sector met to discuss a proposal for changing or discontinuing the Everything But Arms agreement, which grants developing nations like Cambodia duty-free and quota-free shipping on their exports, excluding weapons, to European countries. … Oryza’s report says that Italian paddy rice production has fallen 5.6 per cent, from 1.5 million tons in 2011 to 1.47 million tons in 2013. Although Cambodia’s rice exports last year skyrocketed 85 per cent from 2012, and the EU accounted for about 60 per cent of the 379,000 tons, Italy received a mere 9,874 of the whole, placing it 11th overall among 66 countries. …
Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/cambodia%E2%80%99s-rice-under-fire
