Chasing China’s rice import potential
China National Cereal, Oil and Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO) is the latest mainland Chinese company to sign a deal to export Cambodian rice. COFCO is one of a number of Chinese companies that have signed similar deals with their Cambodian counterparts, but direct rice exports to China are yet to begin in earnest. “The Chinese are very strict on quality,” Phou Puy, president of the Federation of Rice Millers Associations and the Baitong Rice Export Company, said. “So far, we haven’t received any updated information on the inspect-ions from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. But I know their delegation will come to test our quality soon.” Plans for a Cambodian rice-testing laboratory, required by Chinese inspectors to allow Cambodian imports, are also under way.
