cassava export: partnership with chinese company

China National Food Industry Group yesterday signed an agreement with Cambodian agricultural firm Ly Ye Rubber Company, aiming to import large quantities of cassava from Cambodia. Cai Yong Feng, chairman of the Chinese firm, said cassava is a quickly expanding industry in Cambodia. ‘If the dry cassava from Cambodia has high enough quality standards for the Chinese market then we will buy other products,’ he said.

Source: Phnom Penh Post

Vietnamese rice exporter face challenges from foreigners in Cambodia

Vietnamese rice exporters will face tough competition from foreign countries looking to exploit advantages that Cambodia presents as a beneficiary of the the EBA (Everything But Arms) initiative, says an Econet report.

Under the EBA, Cambodia, as a least-developed-country, enjoys zero tariffs and no quotas for exporting its farm produce, especially rice, to the EU.

Building water links from Cambodia to Vietnam

Authorities are planning upgrades to effectively double the capacity of boats travelling from Phnom Penh Autonomous Port to Vietnam, according to port Director General Hei Bavy.

A 2009 agreement with Vietnam authorities allows ships travelling down the Mekong from Cambodia to off-load at Cai Mep deepwater port near Ho Chi Minh City, and re-load onto larger vessels to make the trip overseas. Although the agreement has led to a large increase in shipments from Phnom Penh Autonomous Port (PPAP), experts say more could be done to improve the link.

Fast freight: Coastal port sees more shipments

Freight shipments passing through Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (SAP) jumped nearly 7 percent year-on-year through the first seven months of 2011, according to official figures released yesterday.

Total freight shipments through July reached 135,324 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), up 6.75 percent from the same period last year. At the same time, total tonnage increased 13 percent to 1.4 million tonnes. 

Phnom Penh Port sees growth for freight

Freight shipments through Phnom Penh Autonomous Port increased 31 percent for the first seven months of the year, compared with the same period in 2010. The port handled 43,859 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) from January to June this year, from 33,364 TEUs in the same period 2010. The increase came through increased imports and exports of agricultural products, textiles and raw materials for the garment industry, and construction materials, said port Director General Hei Bavy. “With the government policy pushing for rice exports, we see that increased agricultural production this year has led to growth in shipments through the port,” he said.

Source: Phnom Penh Post

More competition from Thai rice millers

Thai government proposals to pay above market prices to rice farmers could complicate Cambodia’s goal of becoming a major milled rice exporter, according to industry insiders.

Pheu Thai party leader Yingluck Shinawatra has announced plans to buy rough rice for a guaranteed price of 15,000 baht (US$505) a tonne, more than 50 percent above current rates.

Coffee development in Cambodia

Coffee plantations in Cambodia’s northeast are struggling to keep up with rising international demand for the increasingly lucrative beans, farmers and traders said.

Orders for Cambodian-grown coffee beans from countries such as Japan and Korea as well as domestic demand has increased rapidly, while prices have jumped nearly 40 percent since 2009, traders said. 

Higher prices are ushering more farmers into the market, but supply from Mondulkiri province’s roughly 30 hectares of coffee plantation is falling short.

Im Saroeun, a farmer at the Coffee Plantation Resort in Mondolkiri province, said his plantation is turning down contracts from foreign importers. It simply cannot fill the orders, he said.

Work on Canadia rice mills begins

Canadia Bank  has begun construction on an US$8 million rice processing facility in Takeo province, aiming to process rice for export to the international market, company officials said.

Set up in the province’s Doun Keo district, the mill will be capable of processing up to 500 tonnes of paddy per day, Canadia Investment Department Manager Rien Samrith said.

“We want to invest in this province because of its potential for agriculture, and we want to push people to produce more rice,” he said.

Construction on the facility began earlier this month, and will be finished by September this year.

Rice traders see room to grow in US market

Cambodian rice imports to the US have increased recently, and producers now say they are seeking to maintain quality standards to continue shipments.

“Cambodian rice was imported into the US before, but the companies couldn’t sustain the quality of rice after the initial shipment,” Phanarith An, who works with rice importer Angkor International, said as a guest on “Hello VOA” Monday. “So customers complained and the companies went out of business.”

“Thanks to state-of-the-art machines and the selection of crops,” he said, “we can now guarantee the consistent quality of our rice.”

Cambodia’s fish exports decline 33% in first 6 months

Cambodia recorded 33 % decline in fish exports in the first half of this year, compared with the same period a year ago, showed the figure from the Fisheries Administration on Tuesday. 

From January to June this year, the country has exported 16,000 tons of fresh and processed fish with an estimated revenues of 45 million U.S. dollars, 33% decrease from 24,000 tons with the total cost of 67 million U.S. dollars at the same period last year.