Following a considerable increase in Cambodia’s milled rice exports in the first four months of the year, Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh said he was optimistic the Kingdom’s rice exports would reach the 2015 target of one million tonnes.
With this year’s export figures notably higher than those of the same period last year, Prasidh said he believed exports of milled rice would reach more than 300,000 tonnes in the first six months of the year, mostly absorbed by European markets. …
According to data from the Secretariat of One Window Service for Rice Export Formality, Cambodian milled rice exports reached 118,500 tonnes in the first four months of this year compared with 51,466 tonnes in the same period last year. …
While significant obstacles remain, the success of the rice sector is a potentially crucial driver in Cambodia’s prosperous and equitable development. …
Cambodia announced two major bilateral trade agreements recently, with the Philippines and Thailand, that are expected to further expand the country’s rice export sector. …
Agriculture, led by rice farming, contributes to roughly a third of the country’s GDP and has immense potential for strengthening Cambodia’s economic growth, accelerating poverty reduction, and improving the living standard of its citizens. As part of this agenda, in 2010, the RGC adopted a new Policy Paper on Paddy Production and Rice Export, better known as the Rice Policy, to promote diversification of Cambodia’s economic sectors by catalyzing growth in paddy rice production and milled rice export to match the growth seen in the garment and service sectors. …
If Cambodia’s rice export sector were to reach its full potential, it could produce 3 million tons of milled rice, with the total export value amounting to $2.1 billion (approximately 20% of the GDP) and an estimated additional $600 million (approximately 5% of the GDP) to the national economy. It would also boost employment and income for agricultural farmers who make up more than 70 percent of the population living in rural areas. …
Poor transport and infrastructure such as roads, railways, warehouses, and handling equipment also increase costs for farmers. …
The lack of handling equipment in one of the main ports, the Sihanoukville Port, is also a major constraint for the export of large quantities of milled rice. …
As a relatively new player in the milled rice market, Cambodia faces a steep learning curve. However, with a surplus of 3.5 million tons of paddy rice (equivalent to 2 million tons of milled rice), Cambodia has the potential to soon be among the top five milled rice exporters in the world.
Major financial institutions show more trust in providing loans to the agricultural sector, evidenced by increasing agricultural loan disbursement, thanks to potential growth in the sector and better preparation of financial report among borrowers, according to industry insiders.
Acleda Bank, Cambodia’s largest domestically owned bank, has been increasing its percentage share of its loan portfolio into agriculture from 15 per cent two years ago to 19 per cent at the end of March.
While the bank’s total loan portfolio reached about $1.35 billion at the end of March this year, In Channy, the bank’s president and chief executive said $254 million was given to agricultural loans, which represents about 19 per cent of total lending. …
Acleda Bank, Cambodia’s largest domestically owned bank, has been increasing its percentage share of its loan portfolio into agriculture from 15 per cent two years ago to 19 per cent at the end of March. …
Kim Savuth, the president of the Federation of Cambodian Rice Exporters agreed that accessing loans from banks and MFIs is easier compared to some previous years.
Nevertheless, he said farmers still suffer because of higher interest rates offered by micro lenders, while strict requirements from banks were still a barrier for rice millers.
Milled rice exports have seen dramatic growth this year as the sector begins to take advantage of duty-free exports to European countries, an official and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said.
Thon Virak, director of state-owned rice exporter Green Trade, said Tuesday that in the year up to the end of April, 118,500 tons of milled rice had been exported from Cambodia.
“It increased by about 43 percent compared with the same period [last year],” Mr. Virak said.
Cambodia traditionally exports a large proportion of its rice crop as unprocessed paddy to Thailand and Vietnam, where it is milled and often re-exported. The government has targeted an increase to 1 million tons a year-compared with only about 200,000 tons last year-by 2015, and investment in rice mills has been stepped up to meet the goal. …
Cambodia announced two major bilateral trade agreements last month, with the Philippines and Thailand, that are expected to further expand the country’s rice export sector. Over the last few years, Cambodia has emerged as a major rice exporter in the region, due in large part to the Royal Government of Cambodia’s recent expansion of its agricultural sector. …
Agriculture, led by rice farming, contributes to roughly a third of the country’s GDP and has immense potential for strengthening Cambodia’s economic growth, accelerating poverty reduction, and improving the living standard of its citizens. As part of this agenda, in 2010, the RGC adopted a new Policy Paper on Paddy Production and Rice Export, better known as the Rice Policy, to promote diversification of Cambodia’s economic sectors by catalyzing growth in paddy rice production and milled rice export to match the growth seen in the garment and service sectors. In his keynote address at the policy’s launch, Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen said: “The policy aims to ensure that we grab the rare opportunity to develop Cambodia in the post global financial and economic cataclysm.” …
Poor transport and infrastructure such as roads, railways, warehouses, and handling equipment also increase costs for farmers. To transport one ton of rice on a 100 km road, Cambodian farmers must spend $15, while their counterparts in Thailand and Vietnam pay $4 and $7.50, respectively. The lack of handling equipment in one of the main ports, the Sihanouk-Ville Port, is also a major constraint for the export of large quantities of milled rice. In addition, lack of access to and high cost of credit decreases domestic economic value-added and hinders milled rice export, presenting an obstacle for rice millers to stockpile paddy rice. …
Malaysia-based agricultural and commodities company Felda Global Ventures Holdings is considering investing in palm oil, sugar and rubber crops in Cambodia.
Felda Global head of corporate communications Izan Hussain said yesterday the company had received numerous business proposals, but had not made any decisions.
“Our discussions and explorations of possible business activities in Cambodia are still in the early stages, and we are not able to divulge these yet,” Hussain told the Post. …
Police have cracked down on illegal large-scale rosewood smuggling at the Cambodia-Thai border in the district of Malai.
In the sting operation Tuesday night, led by Banteay Meanchey prosecutor, Phan Pirom, the authorities have seized around three tons of rosewood, hidden in the truck bed used for transporting milled rice from Vietnam to Thailand, through the Malai district’s Ro Beang border entrance. …
Authorities also captured three trucks, which were transporting milled rice, trying to evade import and export taxes into Thailand.
Cambodia’s import and export trade volume had amounted to US$2.7-B in the 1st 2 months of this year, up 28% compared to the US$2.1-B in the same period last year, the statistics of the Commerce Ministry showed Friday.
Main products Cambodia imported are garment and textile raw materials, petroleum, construction materials, automobiles and motorcycles, consuming items, food and soft drinks, pharmaceutical products and cosmetics, while it exported garments and footwear, rubber latex, milled rice, corn and cassava. …
Local food producer Ly Ly Food Industry had invested about $1 million for a Chinese-made machine to improve production and food quality as it prepared for the coming regional economic community, the company’s owner said yesterday.
Keo Mom said a tremendous amount of goods from neighbouring countries would flow into the Cambodian market in 2015, when the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is scheduled to be launched.
She said her company had imported the machine to increase efficiency. …
Meng Saktheara, director-general of the General Department of Industry at the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, said many Cambodian-made products were superior in quality to imported goods. …
Cambodia’s exports to Malaysia almost doubled from $55.5 million a year earlier to $101 million in 2012, the Malaysian Embassy said.
Exports were led by crude rubber at $69.1 million followed by milled rice at $24.3 million, up sharply from $9.5 million in 2011 and only $0.4 million in 2010. …
The statement said overall two-way trade grew 17.3 percent from a year earlier to $376.1 million in 2012. Exports to Cambodia fell 5.1 percent to $248.1 million in the same period. …
Cambodian milled rice is becoming more popular throughout Asia, particularly in Malaysia, which is the number one importer of milled rice from the Kingdom.
According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Malaysia imported over 7,000 tonnes of a total 25,700 tonnes exported by Cambodia in January. …
But Cambodia also still faces challenges in managing the use of different seeds grown in different areas, [Hean Vanhorn] said, adding that officials could not always control the quantity of these unspecified seeds. …
Rice millers and exporters are optimistic that they will see an increase in exports this year after they received higher orders toward the end of 2012, producers said yesterday.
Toch Tepech, president of the Svay Rieng Rice Millers Association, told the Post he had exported over 1,000 tonnes, mainly fragrant rice, to world markets last year. Most of the exports went to Europe. …
The demand for milled rice may have increased, but the price has remained the same as last year. One tonne of fragrant rice costs about $890 to $900, he said.
Figures from the Ministry of Agriculture showed that Cambodia exported 205,717 tonnes of milled rice in late 2012, an increase of 1.9 per cent compared with the 201,899 tonnes in 2011. …
Cambodia exported more than 200,000 tons of milled rice in 2012, the greatest yield on record, though well short of the government target to export 1 million tons by 2015.
Speaking at the Ministry of Agriculture’s annual meeting in Phnom Penh, Agriculture Minister Chan Sarun said that the yield of unprocessed paddy rice in the 2012 to 2013 harvest season had grown by roughly 6 percent to 9.13 million tons, up from 8.8 million tons the previous season. …
Cargo shipments through Sihanoukville’s Deep Sea Port increased more than seven per cent year-on-year in 2012.
Port officials say this growth is a result of Cambodia’s economic performance and an improving global economy. …
“It is a fast rate of growth compared with previous years. We had growth in all kinds of products,” Chea Sambath, chief of the port’s planning and marketing department, said, adding that Cambodia’s political stability was attracting businesses. …
Exports of milled rice had fallen dramatically last year because of the poor quality of paddy rice, insiders said yesterday.
Milled-rice producers told the Post that a large amount of paddy rice broke.
From every 100 kilograms of paddy rice, 20 to 23 kilograms of milled rice were produced, Hun Lak, secretary of the Alliance of Rice Producers and Exporters of Cambodia, said. …
Because of those poor results, the Alliance of Rice Producers and Exporters of Cambodia had provided less capital for millers to buy paddy rice, he said. …
Keth Seng, secretary of state for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry, said during a meeting earlier this month the price of Cambodian rice had dropped about 100 riel a kilogram on average.
Although rice traders cut their prices, the cost of transportation increased last year. In addition, rice-exporting countries such as India sold old stocks of rice, affecting the demand in Cambodia.
Cambodia recorded a trade deficit of 2.65 billion U.S. dollars in 2012, according to the government’s statistics on Wednesday.
The country’s total import and export volume had reached 13.63 billion U.S. dollars last year, up 19 percent from 11.48 billion U. S. dollars in a year earlier, said the statistics from Camcontrol, or the Cambodia Import-Export Inspection and Fraud Repression Directorate General, which regulates imports and exports in the kingdom. …
The Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture, or Cedac, has built a
$500,000 rice mill in Phnom Penh’s Pur Senchey district in the hope of exporting
more milled rice overseas, an official said yesterday.
“We expect that in 2013, we would export between 200 tons and 300 tons of milled rice to the U.S., because now we have our own rice mill,” Yang Saing Koma, President of Cedac said, adding that the NGO exported more than 100 tons of milled rice to the U.S. last year without a rice mill. …
Cambodian milled rice exports to international markets grew only 2 per cent year-on-year, leading rice trading experts to express concern that the goal of exporting a million tonnes in 2015 cannot be accomplished.
Hean Vanhorn, deputy director general of the Ministry of Agriculture and director of the single window secretariat for facilitating milled rice exports, said rice export figures at the end of 2012 shows there were only 205,717 tonnes exported, an increase of 1.9 per cent compared to 201,899 tonnes in 2011. …
An ambitions new agricultural development project backed by a former US diplomat is aiming to dramatically revamp the sector and bring profits back into the hands of farmers.
Sichan Siv, a Cambodian with dual citizenship who spent five years serving as US ambassador to the UN, and his consultancy, Akra Group, plan to launch in early January a national farmers’ and millers’ co-operative project that will pump millions of dollars into the sector. If successful, says Sichan, Cambodia could be one of, if not the biggest producers of milled rice in the world. …
The government-backed Rural Development Bank has handed a $4.5 million loan to a company planning to invest in Cambodia’s efforts to export more milled rice. Rural Development Bank chairman Son Kuon Thor said yesterday that the bank was giving the loan to a new company called Eng Dypo Development, which is investing a total of $12 million in a rice milling enterprise in Kandal province. “They are going to build a warehouse and dryer and a mill,” Mr. Kuon Thor said. …
