Cambodia sells more, buys less
May 20th, 2013, Bangkok Post, Agriculture & Agri-business, Business & Commercial Development, Economics, Exports, Garment Industry, Imports, Industry, International Relations, pharmaceuticals, Trade
Trade between Thailand and Cambodia went off in a wild divergence in the first quarter of this year.
Exports from Cambodia rose 19% to US$102 million (2.9 billion baht) year-on-year, while Thailand’s imports recorded a 4% decline to $1 billion, the Phnom Penh Post reported on Monday, citing figures from the Cambodian Commerce Ministry. …
“A lot of Cambodian agricultural products are being exported to Thailand as some barriers have been [adjusted] and that’s why we are seeing imports from Cambodia to Thailand increasing quite a lot,” Thai trade counselor Jiranun Wongmongkol told the newspaper. …
Rising exports from Cambodia to Thailand are following a similar trend overall. Cambodian exports to other countries jumped more than 20% in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year, according to the ministry. …
Bangkok Post Staff
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/351002/strong-baht-sends-thai-exports-to-cambodia-down
Cambodia’s Beauty Industry Blossoming
May 16th, 2013, The Phnom Penh Post, Business & Commercial Development, Economics, Imports, Industry, International Relations, News Source, pharmaceuticals, Trade
The beauty business in the Kingdom is growing rapidly as incomes are rising and the middle-class is growing, industry insiders told the Post yesterday.
In the first three months of this year, the Kingdom imported cosmetic products worth $9.9 million, an increase of 130 per cent compared with the same period last year, import data from the Ministry of Commerce showed. …
According to industry insiders, young Cambodians open to Korean culture and lifestyle are a main driver for the development of the industry. …
Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013051665644/Business/cambodia-s-beauty-industry-blossoming.html
Cambodia-Japan trade volume up 14% in 3 months
May 14th, 2013, Xinhuanet News, Business & Commercial Development, Economics, Exports, Foreign Investment, Garment Industry, Imports, Industry, International Relations, pharmaceuticals, Trade
Bilateral trade volume between Cambodia and Japan had amounted to 180 million U.S. dollars in the first three months of this year, up 14 percent compared with the 158 million U.S. dollars at the same period last year, a report of the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) showed Tuesday. …
During the January-March period this year, Cambodia’s exports to Japan was worth about 128 million U.S. dollars, up 24 percent from 103 million U.S. dollars at the same period last year, while Japan’s exports to Cambodia valued at 52 million U.S. dollars, down 5 percent from 55 million U.S. dollars, the report said. …
Japan is one of the largest aid providers to Cambodia, but trade and investment ties between the two nations remain low. …
On the investment side, Japanese investors had invested about 300 million U.S. dollars in Cambodia in the last 3 years, according to a record released by Japanese Embassy to Cambodia in January.
Xinhuanet Staff
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2013-05/14/c_132381154.htm
Boost For Animal Healthcare
May 13th, 2013, The Phnom Penh Post, Business & Commercial Development, Economics, Exports, Imports, Labor, Livestock, News Source, pharmaceuticals, Trade
Cambodia’s promising animal feed sector will soon see support from a big pharmaceutical manufacturer which is now studying local demand for animal healthcare – a nearly untapped market.
“We intend to introduce animal health business in Cambodia for our farm products and feed mills,” Khalid Baig, Bayer’s country group head Southeast Asia, told the Post. …
According to animal welfare and production expert Ros Limhy, several thousand veterinarians are working in the Kingdom, mostly at the village or commune level. However, the key players in improving animal health in Cambodia would be the Village Animal Health Workers, who have been trained by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the public sector.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is one of those NGOs. According to IFAD’s Country Operations Officer Meng Sakphouseth, 80 per cent of the villages in the Kingdom have at least one animal health worker. …
Sarah Thust
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013051365566/Business/boost-for-animal-healthcare.html
The drugs don’t work: Despite the best efforts of the authorities, producers of fake medicines are making a killing in Cambodia
March 11th, 2013, Southeast Asia Globe, Business & Commercial Development, Industry, International Relations, pharmaceuticals, Production, Social Concerns
“Counterfeit medicine kills, while real medicine heals.” This was the simple but apt message selected just over a year ago for a poster campaign in Cambodia that aimed to raise awareness of the risks of counterfeit medications, as part of a government crackdown on the illicit trade.
Record seizures of counterfeit medications in the country followed. On September 24, 2012, police appropriated more than two tonnes of dangerous medicines in Phnom Penh and arrested a pharmacy owner. A week later, three tonnes of counterfeit and expired medicines were discovered at warehouses in the capital’s Chamkarmon district – the largest counterfeit drug haul recorded in the country. …
“Approximately 20% of the antimalarial medicines in Cambodia do not work. Many are fakes – sold because patients are not aware of the dangers. Additionally, most antimalarials make legitimate companies only a small revenue, so the companies don’t protect those brands as closely as they might more valuable products,” [economist Roger Bate] added. …
Sacha Passi
http://sea-globe.com/the-drugs-dont-work/
Imported Delays Cap Pharma Growth
January 28th, 2013, The Phnom Penh Post, Business & Commercial Development, Imports, Industry, International Relations, pharmaceuticals, Social Concerns
Although the Ministry of Heath estimates that 40 to 50 percent of Cambodians use traditional medicine, the Kingdoms Pharmaceutical industry is growing rapidly.
In 2012, according to the latest forecast from Business Monitor International (BMI) people in Cambodia spent $263 million on pharmaceuticals, compared with $217 Million in 2011. …
The sector, however is vulnerable due to its high dependence on imports. In 2011 there were only eight medical manufactures in Cambodia, according to a US Department of Commerce report. …
In 2012, Cambodia imported medicine and pharmaceutical equipment worth about $165.57 million, a rise of 33 per cent compared with 2011, data from the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce show. According to the BMI report, Cambodia imports medical products from India, South Korea, Pakistan, Thailand, Australia and Japan.
In addition to logistical challenges, access to pharmaceutical products is still limited. Last year, the Global Pharmacy Workforce Report by the International Pharmaceutical Organisation found only 1,477 licensed pharmacists in Cambodia. The range of services is often limited and prices are controlled by pharmacists. …
Sarah Thust and Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013012861016/Business/import-delays-cap-pharma-growth.html
Record Bad Medicine Haul
September 24th, 2012, The Phnom Penh Post, Business & Commercial Development, Industry, News Source, pharmaceuticals, Production, Social Concerns, Trade
Police seized more than two tonnes of dangerous counterfeit medication on Saturday and arrested a Phnom Penh pharmacy owner in a sting officials say has netted the largest-ever haul of illegal medication in Cambodia.
After nine days of surveillance, the Ministry of Interior’s Economic Police unit swooped in on the Chamkarmon district drugstore and arrested 49-year-old Heang Chamroeun, who they allege trafficked 42 kinds of expired, sub-standard and fake medication worth an estimated $100,000. …
In 2002, the World Health Organisation issued a draft Study on Counterfeit and Substandard Drugs, reporting that 13 per cent of medication on sale in Cambodia was fake or sub-standard and that government inactivity had allowed the problem to manifest. …
Khuon Leakhena and Claire Knox, P. 1
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012092458877/National-news/record-high-counterfeit-medicine-haul.html
Pharmaceutical plant announces expansion
September 10th, 2012, The Phnom Penh Post, Business & Commercial Development, Exports, Industry, International Relations, News Source, pharmaceuticals, Production, Trade
PharmaProduct Manufacturing, Cambodia’s self-described first pharmaceutical plant, announced last week plans to expand into other ASEAN markets once the ASEAN Community frame-work is adopted in 2015.
According to its online materials, the producer of the painkiller KINAL – among other medicines – opened its doors in 1996, and has since pushed into more than a dozen mostly Francophone African markets.
If the regional push is successful, WHO communications officer Sonny Krishnan said the company could “definitely” have a positive impact on the availability and affordability of quality drugs.
Stuart White, P. 2
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012091058607/National-news/cambodian-pharmaceutical-plant-announces-asean-expansion.html
Medicine smugglers jailed
March 20th, 2012, The Phnom Penh Post, pharmaceuticals
After being found guilty yesterday, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court handed four men prison sentences and fines for their involvement in a smuggling ring, which brought more than two and a half tonnes of illegal cold medicine into the Kingdom from South Korea. …
Both men were arrested in December 2010 while transporting 7 million pills, weighing 2,517 kilograms, from Preah Sihanouk province to Phnom Penh. …
Buth Reaksmey Kongkea
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012032055129/National-news/medicine-smugglers-jailed.html
Imports compete with domestic medicines
March 19th, 2012, The Phnom Penh Post, Imports, Industry, pharmaceuticals
The value of medicine and medical equipment imports increased about five per cent year-on-year in 2011, according to the Ministry of Commerce. …
Sieam Bunthy, P. 7
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012031955102/Business/imports-compete-with-domestic-medicines.html
Counterfeit medicine campaign under way
February 28th, 2012, The Phnom Penh Post, Business & Commercial Development, Industry, pharmaceuticals
The Ministry of Health, with support from the United States, yesterday launched a national public outreach campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of counterfeit and substandard drugs, which officials said posed a “serious threat” to public health.
The campaign features a poster with the slogan, “counterfeit medicine kills, while real medicine heals”, which will be displayed in pharmacies across the country.
The poster was the winning entry in a contest that drew more than 2,000 applications. …
Kristin Lynch, P. 6
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012022854746/National-news/counterfeit-medicine-campaign-under-way.html
Anti-Counterfeit Drug Campaign to Launch Monday
February 23rd, 2012, The Cambodia Daily, Foreign Aid, Industry, pharmaceuticals
The US Embassy and the Ministry of Health will launch a national public awareness campaign Monday highlighting the dangers of counterfeit drugs, embassy and ministry officials said yesterday.
“We want to focus on being able to raise awareness because it is known that using counterfeit drugs leads to exacerbating health problems,” said US Embassy spokesman Sean McIntonsh, adding that the campaign will be funded by the US State Department.
Chou You Sin, secretary of state of the Ministry of Health, said that “30,000 to 40,000 posters that raise awareness on the dangers of counterfeit and substandard medications will be delivered for display to state clinics, private clinics and pharmacies in Cambodia.
Sin Somuny, executive director of MEDICAM, a membership organization of health NGOs, said that while raising awareness is a positive step toward curbing counterfeit medications, more needs to be done. …
Darius Navidzadeh, P.17
http://www.camnet.com.kh/cambodia.daily/ (Note: Infrequently Updated.)