Cambodia, Australia launch Champei Sar 70 fragrance rice cultivar

  • Champei Sar 70 (CPS 70) is a non-seasonal crop that matures after three months and is resistant to floods and drought, thereby enabling farmers to grow it two to three times per year. Heng Chivoan

    After nearly a decade of research and development, Cambodia and Australia on April 5 jointly announced the official launch of a new fragrance rice variety named Champei Sar 70 (CPS 70) to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations.

    CPS 70 was born of close collaboration between the Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) and the Australian government, following nine years of studies and 80 on-farm trials in both dry and rainy seasons. The cultivar was developed from the award-winning “Phka Rumduol with CNi9024”, according to an April 5 joint press release by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Australian embassy in Phnom Penh.

    Agriculture minister Dith Tina and Australian ambassador Justin Whyatt jointly harvested CPS 70 during the April 5 ceremonial launch at the CARDI headquarters on the outskirts of the capital.

    Tina noted that CPS 70 was named by Prime Minister Hun Sen to celebrate the two nations’ diplomatic relations, which have now turned 70.

    “This new variety will significantly contribute to the diversification of fragrant rice production and the export of fragrant rice to international markets, leading to the improvement of farmers' livelihoods,” Tina was quoted as saying in the release.

    Whyatt said his government takes pride in providing support for the development of CPS 70.

    “I hope that farmers across Cambodia will grow CPS 70 to supply local and international markets, including Australia,” Whyatt was cited as saying in the release.

    According to CARDI director Lor Bunna, CPS 70 is a non-seasonal crop that matures after three months. It is resistant to floods and drought, thereby enabling farmers to grow it two to three times per year.

    “This rice variety is very beneficial for both farmers and traders. It could help farmers cut down on their expenses and efforts to take care of their rice fields. Since it is non-seasonal, traders can buy the paddy all year round,” he said.

  • New rice variety with 2-3 times annual farming option launched

  • Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) has launched a new rice variety called ‘Champei Sar 70’. Dith Tina

    The Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) has launched a new rice variety with a farming option of two to three times a year and a yield of 4.5 tons per hectare.

    Named ‘Champei Sar 70’ with nine years of research, the new rice variety allows cultivation in a short time and is resistant to weather.

    The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, through CARDI, released a new rice variety, fragrant rice, in late 2022, said CARDI official Orn Chhour.

    It is a good quality rice, similar in length to Romduol fragrant rice variety and with an aromatic fragrance, he said.

    The rice variety has been bred from the Romduol fragrant rice variety for nine years of research, which was started in 2013 and released in 2022.

    “Farmers can do it two to three times a year, which can supply the market for a whole year, unlike the romduol variety, which can only be done once a year,” he said.

    The CARDI is now working to supply the seeds to the community, Chhour said.

    Although the rice variety of Champei Sar 70 has not yet been produced for sale, CARDI encouraged farmers to choose this rice variety to grow because of its weather and insect-resistant qualities and planting in the short term, which will make farmers reduce costs, including that of fertilizers.

    “Based on experiments, this rice variety has a yield from 4 tons to 4.5 tons per hectare,” he said.

    This new rice variety will be supported by consumers both in the country as well as the international market, as it provides standard rice that meets the needs of the international market, according to CARDI.

    CARDI will start supplying new rice varieties nationwide through farmers, mills and farming communities.

    In a visit to CARDI on Monday, Agriculture Minister Dith Tina applauded CARDI’s effort in rice research and development, saying that despite some difficulties, CARDI is still able to develop a new rice variety that is good and important for farmers.

    “The development of this new variety can be considered a great achievement for the Institute and the agricultural sector, as well as the image of Cambodia,” Tina said.

    Cambodia exported 637,004 tons of milled rice to international markets in 2022, up 3.2 percent, from 617,069 tons a year earlier, according to the Cambodia Rice Federation.

    Cambodia bagged around $414 million in revenue from exports to 59 countries and regions last year.

    Exported milled rice varieties included premium aromatic rice, fragrant rice, long grain white rice, parboiled rice, organic rice and glutinous rice, CRF said.

  • Cambodia eyes rice sales to Maldives

  • Milled-rice exports have been performing well this year, amounting to 509,249 tonnes in the first 10 months of 2022, up 10.67 per cent from the 460,169 tonnes registered in the same time last year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries reported. - PPP

    PHNOM PENH (The Phnom Penh Post/Asia News Network): Cambodia plans to begin the formal export of milled rice to the archipelago nation of Maldives, a month after its Phka Rumduol jasmine variety was crowned as the “World’s Best Rice” for a fifth time, as part of a campaign to raise the profile of the local grain on the regional and international stages.

    At a ceremony marking the beginning of work to revamp the 95.27km National Road 41 on the morning of Dec 26, Prime Minister Hun Sen revealed that he would visit the Maldives next month to discuss milled-rice sales as well as stepping up tourism ties.

    “The Maldives is a rice-deficient country, so we want to forge links through tourism and milled rice exports. The Maldives may be a small country, but she also has demand [for milled rice] due to her large number of tourists. Our milled rice is superb, so she can bring milled rice from our country,” he said.

    Speaking to The Post on Dec 26, Lay Chhun Hour, group president and CEO of City Rice Import Export Co Ltd, a major rice miller based in Battambang province, suggested that the more markets that Cambodian rice can establish a presence in, the more well-known it will become.

    “We certainly welcome the efforts of our government, which is always trying to find new markets for our agricultural products and expand [existing ones], no matter how large or small, and our milled rice is becoming more and more known,” he said.

    Chhun Hour is seen as the main person behind Phka Rumduol’s participation at the TRT (The Rice Trader) World Rice Conference in Phuket, Thailand on November 17 that awarded it the World’s Best Rice award for the fifth year.

    Phka Rumduol is a type of long-grain jasmine rice that has emerged as a top choice of international buyers, and is one of the varieties exported under the “Angkor Malys” certification mark.

    Lun Yeng, spokesman for the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF), the Kingdom’s apex rice industry body, confirmed to The Post that Cambodia has never officially exported milled rice to the Maldivian market. He welcomed government plans to start doing so.

    “Having more markets would be a boon for the Cambodian rice sector. Whether big or small, it’ll raise the profile of our milled rice on regional and international markets,” he said.

    Straddling the equator in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives stretches along a length of 871km north-to-south and covers an area of around 90,000sq km, only 298sq km of which is dry land.

    Most of the Maldives’ 1,192 islands form part of a double chain of 26 atolls that are grouped together into 21 administrative areas. The country reportedly had a population of 543,620 at end-2021 – up 0.57 per cent year-on-year – with 36.86 per cent women.

    Milled-rice exports have been performing well this year, amounting to 509,249 tonnes in the first 10 months of 2022, up 10.67 per cent from the 460,169 tonnes registered in the same time last year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries reported.

    Fragrant rice contributed the bulk of the exports at 348,501 tonnes or 68.44 per cent, followed by white rice (148,933 tonnes; 29.24 per cent), and parboiled rice (11,815 tonnes; 2.32 per cent).

    China was the largest buyer of Cambodian milled rice in the January-October period, accounting for 231,873 tonnes which were up 1.18 per cent year-on-year, followed by the EU (165,630 tonnes; up 43.43 per cent) and Asean. (48,253 tonnes; up 10.19 per cent), while other countries and territories bought 63,493 tonnes, marking an 11.48 per cent drop, the ministry said, indicating that four of the 27 EU countries did not import any through official channels.

  • Cambodian rice beats Hom Mali for top spot.

  • A fragrant rice variety from Cambodia beat Thailand's Hom Mali rice to win the title of World's Best Rice 2022 at a global conference on rice held last week in Phuket, the Rice Exporters Association said on Monday.

    The winning variety, called phaka lamduan, beat over 20 varieties of fragrant rice in blind tasting during the competition this year because of its stronger fragrance, said Chukiat Opaswong, the association's

    honorary president. The Cambodian rice beat Thailand's Hom Mali rice by one point for the title. The Thai variety, which hails from the Northeast, came second, followed by a variety from Vietnam and Laos

    he said.

    The deciding point was awarded to the phaka lamduan by a judge from the United States, who said the Cambodian variety had a sweeter scent than the Hom Mali, explained the association's chief.

    Mr Chukiat said the higher-than-average rainfall across Thailand this year may have contributed to the less pronounced aroma of this year's Hom Mali rice crop.

    This year's Thai Hom Mali rice is expected to fetch US$750 (about 27,170 baht) per tonne, while phaka lamduan prices are expected to increase from its current average of US$720 per tonne due to its

    new title as World's Best Rice 2022, Mr Chukiat explained.

    Thailand's rice exports will increase to eight million tonnes next year, up from 7.5 million tonnes this year.

    The increase will bring the market price for Thai rice down to US$410-450 per tonne, compared to Vietnam's US$400 per tonne.

    Since the contest began in 2009, Thai varieties have won seven times, including last year and the year before that, he said.

  • Unprocessed rice imports from Cambodia eyed by Philippines

  • Cambodian unprocessed rice eyed for import by Philippines. File Photo

    Asean Business Advisory Council Chair for the Philippines and Go Negosyo founder Jose Maria A. Concepcion III said the Philippines is mulling over importing rice from Cambodia.

    “Cambodia is a big exporter of rice, but it goes through Vietnam for processing,” said Concepcion.

    “Our suggestion is import so that the Philippine companies can process the rice,” he added.

    In a news statement issued by Go Negosyo on Tuesday, Concepcion shared that Cambodian businessmen were receptive to the idea, and even offered technology exchange between the two countries. “Cambodia is very good at growing rice, and we could learn from them,” the Go Negosyo founder added.

    “Agriculture in particular, was revealed as a promising area of cooperation between the two countries. Cambodia produces rice, but Vietnam—which is a major exporter of rice to the Philippines—has the biggest production by hectare,” Go Negosyo said.

    Further, it said that several expansion and export opportunities in Cambodia for Philippine companies were explored during the CEO Roundtable meeting held on the sidelines of the Asean summit in Phnom Penh last November 10.

    The CEO Roundtable meeting was attended by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) President George T. Barcelon, LT Group’s Mike Tan, Go Negosyo senior adviser Josephine Romero, and the Philippine winners of the Asean Business Awards 2022.

    Go Negosyo said aside from agriculture, other areas of cooperation that the meeting was able to identify were on housing, digitalization, food security, hospitality, garments manufacturing, business process outsourcing (BPO), and micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) development.

    In his intervention during the event, Marcos stressed the importance of international cooperation to prevent regional food shortage.

    “It has become glaringly clear that there is a dire need to strengthen food security towards self-sufficiency in our region, to increase adaptability and resilience in the face of threats to the global supply chain,” the President said.

    Marcos is the concurrent Agriculture Secretary of the Philippines.

    Meanwhile, during the meeting, the Philippine group invited the Cambodian businessmen to invest in the Philippines and partner with the Philippine businesses.

    “SMEs from the Philippines—namely, FELTA Multimedia, Home Healthlink and Esquire Financing—who were also winners of the Asean Business Awards, said that they are looking for partners to expand both in the Philippines and within Asean. Meanwhile, the chairman of the Cambodian garments industry association commended during the meeting the logistics support from Philippine cargo and mobility facilities, namely Philippine Airlines [PAL],” Go Negosyo said in its statement.

    According to Go Negosyo, the Cambodian businessmen shared that PAL helped them not only with cargo, but also with the transport of the designers and other technical people between the two countries.

    Further, it said that the Philippines and Cambodia are also together in a campaign to get their respective garments exported at zero rates in the United States’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) so that these may be imported by US brands at zero, or near zero duty. Business Mirror.com.ph

  • Cambodia to export more milled rice to China in coming years

  • PHNOM PENH (XINHUA) – Cambodia is expected to export more milled rice to China in coming years thanks to the entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade deal and the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) earlier this year, Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) President Song Saran said.

    A report released by CRF recently showed that China remained a major buyer of Cambodia’s milled rice in the first 10 months of 2022.

    “These FTAs will further ease trade in goods between Cambodia and China as well as other participating countries,” Saran told Xinhua.

    “Both trade deals have provided a bigger market access for Cambodia’s products, and I think it will attract more foreign investors to invest in various sectors, including in the rice industry, in order to export finished products to those RCEP member countries, with tariff concessions,” he said.

    Ministry of Commerce’s Undersecretary of State Penn Sovicheat said the RCEP and the CCFTA have given and will continue to give a big boost to Cambodia’s exports to China and other member countries.

    “China is a huge market for us,” he told Xinhua. “Under both trade pacts, we believe that the exports of our potential agricultural products such as rice, cassava, bananas, mangoes, and longans, among others to China will continue to grow in coming years.”

    From January to October, Cambodia’s milled rice exports to international markets reached 509,249 tonnes, up 10.6 per cent year-on-year, earning gross revenue of USD324 million, the report said, adding that the milled rice had been shipped to 56 countries and regions.

    Exported milled rice varieties included fragrant rice, long grain white rice, parboiled rice, organic rice and glutinous rice, it said.

  • Cambodia donates 6,000 tonnes of rice to Cuba

  • The Cambodian government has donated 6,000 tonnes of rice to the Cuban government and its people.

    Prime Minister Hun Sen on Facebook said that the Cambodian government donated 6,000 tonnes of rice to the Cuban government and its people.

    “The donation by government and people is 3,000 tonnes of rice and the remaining comes from private sectors,” he said.

    Prime Minister Hun Sen met with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel yesterday.

    “The donation will leave Cambodia in October, and arrive in Cuba in December,” he added.

    In the meeting, both leaders highlighted the good bilateral relations and reiterated the willingness to strengthen cooperation in sports, health, culture, and biotechnology.

    Mr Hun Sen said the Cuban President thanked Cambodia for its rice donation.

    President Díaz-Canel recalled the historical ties of friendship between both countries and the firm connection between Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz and King Father Norodom Sihanouk, founders of the Non-Aligned Movement (MNOAL).

  • Cambodia earns 89 mln USD from milled rice export to China in Jan.-July

  • PHNOM PENH, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia exported 169,766 tons of milled rice to China in the first seven months of 2022, earning 89 million U.S. dollars in revenue, the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) said on Wednesday.

    China remained the largest buyer of Cambodia's rice, followed by the European Union, the CRF said in a news release, adding that China accounted for 48.3 percent of Cambodia's total rice export volume during the January-July period.

    CRF President Song Saran said China is a big market for Cambodian rice and the country hopes to export more rice to China.

    "The RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) will further ease trade in goods between Cambodia and China as well as other participating countries," he told Xinhua.

    "This mega regional trade pact provides a greater market access for Cambodia's products, and I think it will attract more foreign investors to invest in various sectors, including in the rice industry, in order to export finished products to those RCEP countries, with preferential tariffs," he added.

    According to the CRF, Cambodia exported a total of 350,902 tons of milled rice to 56 countries and regions in the first seven months of this year, up 13 percent year-on-year, generating 218 million U.S. dollars in revenue. 

  • Cambodia, Timor-Leste mull rice export deal

  • Cambodia and Timor-Leste discussed a rice export deal as the two countries pledged to strengthen bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

    The discussions were held when Rath Saravuth, Director General of International Trade at Cambodia’s Ministry of Commerce and Domingos Lopes Antunes, Vice-Minister of Commerce of Timor-Leste met at Dili city on Monday.

    In the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on boosting bilateral trade and cooperation between the two countries’ private sectors through business matching, mutual exchanges and exhibition activities, according to the Commerce Ministry.

    “The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to continue cooperating, facilitating and promoting business and investment activities to boost economic and trade growth between the two countries,” said a release.

    “The two sides also identified potential items for trade, especially the export of Cambodian rice to Timor-Leste,” it added.

    Cambodia has asked Timor-Leste to buy Cambodian rice and invest in local rice mills and warehouses after backing Dili’s bid to join the Asean.

    Timor-Leste is a potential market for Cambodia’s milled rice, said Lun Yeng, Secretary-General of the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF). The two sides have been working on a rice export deal for some time, he said.

    “We have talked with the embassy of Timor-Leste in Cambodia that said it is working with the commerce ministry (of Timor-Leste) on a possible rice export deal. Now, we are waiting for the feedback from them,” Yeng said yesterday.

    The CRF is striving to find new markets for the Kingdom’s rice as it sets a target of at least 800,000 tonnes of milled rice export this year.

    Cambodia exported 327,000 tonnes of milled rice in the first semester this year, an increase of 16 percent compared to the same period last year, according to a report by the CRF.

    China remained the Kingdom’s biggest export market for the milled rice during the period, accounting for 51.43 percent of the total milled rice export from the country. The rest mainly went to European Union (EU) countries, accounting for 32 percent of the total volume.

  • Cambodia’s rice exports to South-East Asia region increase by 9% in 2021

  • Cambodia has exported over 25,000 tonnes of milled rice to Asean countries in the first five months of this year, an increase of 9 per cent compared to the same period last year. - Phnom Penh Post/ANN

    PHNOM PENH, June 12 (Phnom Penh Post/ANN): Cambodia has exported over 25,000 tonnes of milled rice to South-East Asian (Asean) countries in the first five months of this year, an increase of 9 per cent compared to the same period last year.

    The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said that from January to May, a total of 25,691 tonnes of milled rice – an increase of 9.06 per cent – has been exported to other Asean member countries.

    Malaysia is the top export destination at 15,120 tonnes for an increase of 5.33 per cent. Brunei is the runner up as they imported 8,022 tonnes of milled rice or an increase of 2.8 per cent.

    Singapore and Vietnam ranked third and fourth, importing 1,549 tonnes (0.55 per cent increase) and 1,000 tonnes (increase of 0.3 per cent) respectively.

    Lun Yeng, secretary general of the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) said that Malaysia is the biggest Cambodian rice importer in Aseanand is third among 90 countries that imported rice from Cambodia in the past five years (2017-2021) with a total rice of 204,565 tonnes imported or nearly seven per cent of all 3,148,697 tonnes in that period.

    He said that in 2021 Cambodia had exported 46,181 tonnes of Fragrant Rice to Malaysia, worth $32.07 million, making the country third ranked after China and France.

    “In Malaysia, most elderly people have heard of Cambodia’s fragrant rice since before the war and the kind of rice that was sold there was known as Somaly. Currently, the milled rice packaged with the name Somaly is still popular there,” he said. - Phnom Penh Post/ANN

  • Cambodia’s rice exports fetch $564 million

  • Cambodia exported 283,675 tonnes of milled rice in the first five months. KT/Chor Sokunthea

    Cambodia earned $564m from rice exports in the January-May period this year – $173 million from milled rice exports and $391 million from paddy rice, according to a report from the Cambodia Rice Federation.

    In the first five-month period, Cambodia exported 283,675 tonnes of milled rice through 53 exporting companies, read the report.

    China remained the top buyer of Cambodia’s rice, followed by the European Union, the CRF said in a news release, adding that export to China accounted for 52.6 percent of the total rice exports.

    The Kingdom exported 88,167 tonnes to the European countries, representing 31 percent of total export, an increase of 49.26 percent compared to the same period last year, read the report.

    Exports to Asean countries rose by 17.59 percent to 25,691 tonnes, equivalent to nine percent, added the report, citing that exports to various destinations in 21 countries reached 20,376 tonnes or 7.20 percent.

    Of the milled rice export, premium fragrant rice accounted 64.10 percent, white fragrant rice 33.12 percent, and parboiled rice and organic rice 1.42 percent.

    Cambodia also exported 1,698,908 tonnes of paddy rice, valued at $391.7 million. In May this year alone, the country exported 62,537 tonnes of rice, an increase of 54.28 percent compared to May 2021.

    The price of Cambodia’s premium rice is currently $840 per tonne.

    Lun Yeng, Secretary-General of the Cambodian Rice Federation (CRF), said that the CRF has boosted the exports of rice to international markets, especially Europe, despite rising shipping costs.

    “For the remaining months this year, we expect that the export of commodities will continue as usual despite the transport fee hike because our rice is mostly premium rice and our markets – the EU, China and Asean – have remained stable,” Yeng told Khmer Times.

    Yeng said the price of the commodity is predicted to increase between 10 and 20 percent due to the threat of the prolonging Russia-Ukraine war and the rise in the cost of inputs used for rice production.

  • Cambodia rice exports rise to $516 million in four months

  • CRF says Kingdom exported 221,138 tonnes of milled rice in first quarter of 2022. KT/Chor Sokunthea

    Cambodia exported 221,138 tonnes of milled rice and 1,648,474 tonnes of un-milled rice, with a total value of $516.21 million in the first four months of 2022, according to a release from the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF).

    Forty-eight exporters sent products to 54 destinations, of which Cambodia exported 115,255 tonnes, or 52.12 percent, worth $62.74 million to China and Hong Kong Autonomous Region. The Kingdom exported 68,555 tons, or 31 percent, valued at $51 million to Europe.

    The export to Asean countries amounted to 21,876 tonnes or 9.89 percent, with a value of $13.90 million. The exports to other countries were valued at $11.74 million, representing 15,452 tonnes, or a share of 6.99 percent.

    Exports of all types of fragrant rice were 67.12 percent, white rice (30.13 percent), steamed rice (1.07 percent) and organic rice (1.68 percent).

    In the first four months, 1,648,474 tonnes of rice were exported through the border with Vietnam, earning about $376.64 million.

    Lun Yeng, general secretary, CRF, told Khmer Times, “With rice exports up nearly 15 percent in the first four months of 2022, we expect further growth with a potential to reach 750,000 to 800,000 tonnes, as food demand soared during the Russia-Ukraine war crisis.”

    Song Saran, president of the CRF and CEO of Miller and Exporter, said, “For Cambodia, we are progressive in the agriculture sector. Cambodia is considered as a country of food products in South East Asia with high potential in rice, cassava, cashew nut, etc. In the past six months, the impact of Covid-19 affected supply chains, including transportation.

    “In 2022, exports recovered by more than 12 percent, but earnings from exports decreased. The war between Russia and Ukraine has driven food demand by more than 30 percent from the European market,” he added.

  • Cambodia to play key role in meeting global rice demand

  • A recent study published by nature.com showed that global demand for rice is expected to increase 30 percent by 2050, however, with a “limited scope available for other main rice-producing countries such as China and India”, it will become incumbent on the countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam to close the future deficit. “At present, the region accounts for 26 percent and 40 percent of global rice production and exports, respectively, being a major rice supplier for other world regions such as Africa and the Middle East,” it said. Over the past decades, countries in Southeast Asia were able to increase rice yields. However, there are concerns about whether future quotas can be met, as noted by a research analyst within the publication. “There is now evidence of yield stagnation in four of the six major rice-producing countries in Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam)”. Aligning with reports that “the harvestable rice area has remained stable [within the aforementioned countries] or even declined slightly in some countries recently and is under growing threat of conversion for residential and industrial uses”. So, in the absence of land expansion, what can be done to make better use of the available land? A publication titled the ‘Use of Legume Cover Crops to Improve Soil Fertility, Rice Yield and Profits’, co-produced by the DALRM, GDA & CIRAD, details the story of Heng Hour, owner of a family-run rice farm in Boh Village, Rovieng District, who transitioned to Regenerative Farming practices to increase his yields. “We started farming rice in 1979. In the past, the soil was rich and the yield was high. From year to year, the yield decreased due to the loss of the soil fertility, higher weed pressure and diseases.” Heng explained that access to greater water controls helped his yield, but the remaining issue of soil fertility meant that “rice production was still not economically viable”. In November 2019, Hour was invited to a village meeting organised by the agronomists of the Conservation Agriculture Service Center and SmartAgro, a startup specialised in cover crops and bio-products. They presented the use of ‘legume cover crops’ to improve soil health in the community. According to organicgrowersschool.com, a ‘cover crop’ is a crop you “grow for the soil, instead of for your plate”, a practice dating as far back as the Roman Empire. Cover crops add “organic matter to the soil, and add nitrogen in a slow-release way that plants can handle, leading to less nitrogen volatilisation”. After implementing the legume cover crop strategy, Heng saw his yield grow by approximately 1 tonne per hectare compared with the previous year, noting a drastic increase in quality with over 60 percent of his yield being sold under the class one standard. “After the ploughing of the cover crops, I noticed the good smell of the decomposition of the cover crops. I observed many big earthworms and the soil was loose and soft when we walked into the field. After transplanting, the plants grew fast, the rice leaves were dark green, and I observed that the grains were well filled.” The cover crop practice is just one of many ‘Regenerative Farming’ methods that could be used to bolster rice yield and quality without dependence on high concentrations of chemicals. Regenerative Farming is a practice that actually rejuvenates Earth’s ecosystems, as opposed to just sustaining them.
     
  • Cambodia achieves more than 100,000 tons of rice exports in January, February

  • Cambodia recorded an increase in this year’s rice exports for January and February compared to the same period in the previous year. This is according to a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries released to local news in March 14. According to the statement from the Ministry, in the first two months of 2022, Cambodia exported 103,058 tons of rice, including all kinds of fragrant rice. This is an increase of 26,836 tons compared to the previous year’s exports for 76,222 tons. Rice exports in February 2022 amounted to 50,022 tons which is an increase of 8,073 tons or 19.24 percent compared to February 2021’s export of 41,949 tons. China is the main market for Cambodian rice export. On January and February of this year Cambodia exported 56,385 tons of rice. Cambodia also exports rice to 20 EU countries with a total volume of 26,507 tons and to three ASEAN destinations with a total 9,370 tons of rice export. The country’s exports to other 16 countries have seen a drop in volume with only 10,796 tons of rice exported, which is a decrease of 19.23 percent. Agricultural exports from Cambodia have seen a slight increase as the country begins to recover from the Covid-19 slump.
  • Cambodia sees 31 pct rise in milled rice export in 8 months

  • PHNOM PENH, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia exported 448,203 tons of milled rice in the first eight months of 2020, up 31 percent over the same period last year, Ngin Chhay, director general of agriculture at the Ministry of Agriculture, said on Monday. China remained the biggest buyer of Cambodian rice, he said in a report, adding that the kingdom shipped 159,253 tons of milled rice to China during the January-August period this year, up 19.8 percent over the same period last year. He added that the country also exported 149,848 tons to the European market during the period, up 24.8 percent, and 60,933 tons to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) market, up 42 percent. The Southeast Asian nation has exported rice to 59 countries and regions during the period, Chhay said. He said the COVID-19 pandemic has driven high demand for Cambodian rice, predicting that the country's rice export to the international market is expected to reach 800,000 tons in 2020. Cambodia produced about 10 million tons of paddy rice last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. With this amount, the kingdom saw paddy rice surplus of about 5.6 million tons in equivalent to 3.5 million tons of milled rice. Enditem
     
  • European Commission to probe exports of rice from Cambodia

  • THE EUROPEAN Commission has found sufficient evidence to launch an investigation into whether Cambodian rice exported to the EU puts an unfair burden on European rice farmers, potentially imperiling the Kingdom’s tariff-free exports to the bloc.

     
    The investigation was launched on March 16 in response to a request from Italy, which called for “safeguard measures” – most commonly import restrictions or tariffs – to be imposed on rice from both Cambodia and Myanmar, according to a |notification of the investigation published in the EU’s official journal. “Having determined that there is sufficient prima facie evidence to justify the initiation of a proceeding, the Commission hereby initiates an investigation pursuant to Article 24 of the GSP Regulation,” the notification says, referring to the Generalised Scheme of Preferences, which currently grants Cambodian exports tax-free entry in the European market under the Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme. Under the GSP’s Article 24, import tariffs can be re-applied to a product if it is determined that the product “is imported in volumes and/or at prices which cause, or threaten to cause, serious difficulties to European Union producers of like or directly competing products”.
     
    Any re-introduction of tariffs on Cambodian rice could have disastrous effects on the industry. The EU accounted for more than 40 per cent of Cambodia’s |total recorded rice exports last year. The EU Commission’s investigation team has already held their first meeting with officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Commerce according to Hean Vanhan, director-general of the Agriculture Ministry’s General Directorate of Agriculture. “We are now meeting with the EU, and we have no idea about the result yet,” he said. “If there is no political interference, I believe that the negotiation will not be difficult, as our exports are based on the EBA agreement.” Mum on details  Vanhan declined to provide further details about the meeting. Representatives from the Commerce Ministry could not be reached. Cambodian rice sector |representatives said that the investigation was worrisome, |and questioned the legitimacy |of Italy’s complaint. “Our rice species are different from Italy’s rice, so what they raise up, it is not possible to hurt their local producers,” said Hun Lak, vice president of the Cambodia Rice Federation. Lak stressed the investigation and subsequent ruling should not be related to the Kingdom’s deteriorating political situation, as did Song Saran, CEO of AMRU Rice, one of the country’s largest rice exporters. While the EBA agreement overall is dependent on certain conditions related to political and labour rights, the specific |clauses underpinning the rice investigation do not mention rights. “The investigation from the EU is a huge concern, and threatens rice exporters and farmers’ living condition,” Saran said, arguing that Italy’s concerns were due to global market factors and not related to Cambodian rice. “The drop down of rice prices impacts not only Italy’s rice market, it is a global issue,” Saran said. “We export only fragrant rice, and the volume is not as big as what Italy is saying.” The share of the EU rice market captured by Cambodian rice has grown from 13 percent five years ago to 21 per cent last year, according to the EU.  Meanwhile, the share of the rice market controlled by European producers has fallen from 52 per cent to 30 percent over the same period. Italian rice farmers have complained about Cambodian rice imports since at least 2014, but this is the first time a formal investigation has been launched by the commission. EU regulations stipulate the investigation must be completed within a year of its March 16 starting date.
  • Cambodia records 10-pct rise in rice export in first 5 months

  • PHNOM PENH, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia exported 257,637 tons of milled rice in the first five months of 2017, up 10 percent compared with the same period last year, according to the latest report on Saturday. The Southeast Asian nation exported its rice to 57 countries and regions around the world, said the report compiled by the Secretariat of One Window Service for Rice Export. Three top buyers are China, France and Poland, it said, adding that China imported 88,769 tons of milled rice from Cambodia during the January-May period this year, France imported 33,459 tons, and Poland purchased 23,036 tons. Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said in mid-May after returning from a visit to China that China had agreed to increase its import quota for Cambodian milled rice to 300,000 tons in 2018, up from 200,000 tons in 2017. Cambodia produces more than 9 million tons of paddy rice a year. With this amount, it has over 3 million tons of milled rice left over for annual export, according to the Agriculture Ministry.
  • Decision time for rice brand

  • The debate continues on the single brand to be used for Cambodian rice exports. KT/Chor Sokunthea Government task forces will meet this week to finalise a single brand under which Cambodian rice will be exported. Those at the meeting will include the Cambodia Rice Federation, the Agriculture Ministry and the Commerce Ministry.  “We don’t know when the exact date for registration will be because they just applied for registration last week,” said Op Rady, director of the intellectual property rights department of the Ministry of Commerce. “We have talked several times. The CRF wants to use the name Angkor Malis but the Agriculture Ministry suggested it reconsider the name. Hean Vanhan, director-general the general directorate of agriculture, said registration of a single rice brand was the duty of the commerce ministry. Agriculture officials said Cambodia had more than 10 varieties of fragrant rice, and should not single out one as a single brand.  “The CRF selected ‘Angkor Malis’ as the brand, but this is not right because there is already a rice seed called malis,” Mr Vanhan said.  “What the private sector wants to do is to steal foreign branding to make the rice similar to Thailand, since the Thai Hom Mali is already famous.  “If we use ‘Angkor Malis,’ which is specific only to Cambodian premium rice ‘malis,’ it has a different taste to Cambodian fragrant rice such as phka romduol, phka chansensor and phka khnei.  “If customers buy Angkor Malis one day, it may have a different taste when they buy it in the future, even though it carries the same brand,” Mr Vanhan said.  He suggested that a non-specific ‘Angkor Rice,’ with the specific variety written underneath would help clear up the confusion and prevent people from thinking they were buying a specific rice variety when they might be buying a different premium rice. CRF secretary-general Moul Sarith said all documents for brand registration had been prepared but the CRF wanted a common name and agreement from stakeholders.  “We have already summited to the Ministry of Commerce for registration on the national rice branding and we plan to finish by June. “Now we have to meet with Agriculture Ministry to decide the common name and we want all relevant stakeholders to agree a single name,” Mr Sarith said.   Mr Sarith added that after several talks involving CRF management and studies both of the local and international market, the CRF wanted the rice to be branded ‘Angkor Malis’.  “However, the Ministry of Commerce asked us to recheck the name while Ministry of Agriculture suggested that we get a better name. “Thus, we want to have a meeting with Agriculture Ministry and Commerce Ministry to decide the name. We have enough documents for registration. When we finish the meeting, we want to register at the same time,” Mr Sarith said.   Song Saran, CEO of Amru Rice (Cambodia) said previously that the long delay in choosing a brand name meant that exporters were still using their own  names for Cambodian rice, such as jasmine rice or fragrant rice.  “We suggest having one name to identify Cambodian premium rice since we don’t want each company having different names and standards for export to foreign countries,” Mr Saran said. “We want Cambodia to have a single brand and standard.” 
  • Vietnam to Sell Bangladesh 1 Million Tonnes of Rice Annually

  • Hanoi. Vietnam will sell 1 million tonnes of various types of rice to Bangladesh annually between 2017-2022 as part of a memorandum of understanding signed by the two countries on Tuesday (23/05), Vietnam's trade ministry said. Bangladesh, facing a rice shortage due to natural disasters and crop failures, wants to buy around 250,000 to 300,000 tonnes of Vietnam's 5-percent white rice immediately and plans to increase rice imports from Vietnam to 500,000 tonnes by end-2017, the trade ministry said in a statement.
  • Cambodia to export more rice to China

  • May 19, 2017 - by Eric Schroeder

     
    Rice
     
    WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S. — China is expected to become a bigger export market for Cambodian rice, with reports suggesting China will import 200,000 tonnes of rice per year from Cambodia, according to a May 15 report from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

    The USDA said Cambodia’s rice millers have shifted their attention to the expanding Chinese market in light of new rules in the European Union that have tightened the residue limit of tricyclazole on rice. Cambodian rice farmers commonly use tricyclazole to control rice blast fungus, but effective June 2017 the E.U. said it will implement a new threshold of tricyclazole residue for white rice — 0.01 mg per kg of paddy — and in December 2017 will implement a new tricyclazole residue level for fragrant rice — at 0.01 mg per kg.

    “Amid rice millers’ concern of the E.U.’s potential ban on Cambodian rice that fails to meet the chemical residue threshold, the government of Cambodia is looking into substitute options and raising awareness of farmers on proper usage of fungicides,” the USDA said.

    Cambodia exported a total of 542,144 tonnes of milled rice in 2016, up 0.7% from 2015. China was the largest destination, importing 127,460 tonnes, a figure that is forecast to grow to 200,000 in 2017, the USDA said. The increase in demand from China is expected to outpace the potential decline in demand from traditional E.U. buyers.

    “Last December, China National Cereals, Oils, and Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO) approved 18 Cambodian rice millers for exporting rice to China as part of an agreement signed between COFCO and the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF),” the USDA said. “Additionally, the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (MAFF) selected 28 rice millers who have demonstrated competence to meet the requirements for exporting rice into China. The CRF is urging the government to facilitate more access to the China market to offset potential decrease demand from E.U.

    “The cross border rice trade is a vital pathway for Cambodia rice export into Thailand and Vietnam. However, Thailand’s reduction in stock and a production recovery this year show no signs of an increase in import demand. Meanwhile, the cross border trade with Vietnam is robust mostly because of strong demand for Cambodian rice to serve local Vietnamese consumers who prefer quality fragrant rice.”

    Overall milled rice exports are forecast to increase 5% to 570,000 tonnes in 2017, and 8% to 615,000 tonnes in 2018, the USDA said.

     
  • PM: China raises rice quota

  • A team of farmers prepare to plant rice seedlings in a paddy in Kampot province last year.   China has agreed to increase its import quota for Cambodian rice to 300,000 tonnes by next year, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced yesterday following his return from Beijing where he attended the Belt and Road initiative summit. In a post to his official facebook page, Hun Sen detailed a conversation he had with Chinese president Xi Jinping, who said China would increase its imports of Cambodian rice from the previously agreed limit of 200,000 tonnes a year to 300,000 tonnes in 2018. The message also said Xi expressed hope that bilateral trade between the two countries would reach $6 billion by 2020. Hun Sen added that during his visit earlier this week he sought to promote Cambodian trade and tourism ties with China. He added that Cambodia will seek to open trade centres in several Chinese provinces to exhibit some of the Kingdom’s export products and provide information related to tourism and investment opportunities. He called for Chinese businessmen to further invest in Cambodia, noting the country’s peace and macroeconomic stability. The Cambodian premier said he was impressed by the outcome of the Belt and Road initiative summit due to its potential to increase connectivity between countries in the region and the rest of the world. The prime minister added that 100 Chinese companies were currently looking to invest in a special economic zone near Sihanoukville, symbolising the strong economic relationship between the two countries.
  • Millers push for China access

  • Rice is harvested from a field using a small harvest machine in Tbong Khmum provice last year.
     
    Rice is harvested from a field using a small harvest machine in Tbong Khmum provice last year. Heng Chivoan

    Millers push for China access

    Wed, 5 April 2017
     
    Amid concerns that the European Union could reject shipments of Cambodian rice, exporters are pushing for more access to China as an alternative market for the Kingdom’s principal agricultural commodity. Hun Lak, vice president of the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF), said just 26 Cambodian millers have satisfied China’s sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards, making them eligible to export rice to the Chinese market. However, another 55 millers “have the quality and capacity to export to China” and have requested an inspection by China’s AQSIQ (General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine) to approve their shipments for export. “We met Ministry of Agriculture officials to seek their assistance in opening the door wider for rice exports to China,” Lak said yesterday. “We hope that officials from AQSIQ China will come to inspect the rice millers’ production lines soon.” According to Lak, Cambodia’s rice industry has struggled since 2015, with about 10 millers forced into bankruptcy and others deep in debt. He said the global market has become increasingly “narrow and strict”, and unless Cambodian exporters can develop new markets the rice industry could soon collapse. The latest challenge to the sector is the EU’s call on farmers to eradicate the use of the fungicide Tricyclazole in rice production. The European Commission has given Cambodian producers of white rice until June and fragrant rice until December to meet its revised threshold levels – 0.01 milligrams of Tricyclazole residue per kilo of rice, far below the current limit of 1 milligram per kilo. While the extent of Tricyclazole use in Cambodia is unclear, Lak said it could be difficult for producers to ensure the compound’s complete eradication in such a short timeframe. “We are concerned that if we cannot comply with their requirement we will lose this market, even though we have requested that the EU give us more time to build our capacity before the regulation comes into effect,” he said The EU is Cambodia’s largest market for rice, accounting for 63 percent of the 542,144 tonnes the country exported last year. China, however, has grown to become a major buyer in recent years, importing 127,460 tonnes of Cambodian rice last year and agreeing to import up to 200,000 tonnes this year. Song Saran, CEO of Amru Rice, one of the country’s biggest exporters, said that while the EU’s decision to eradicate Tricyclazole poses a challenge, Cambodia’s use of the fungicide was still quite limited compared to its rival rice-producing neighbours. “It’s a new challenge for us, but we should be able to manage as this chemical is not used extensively in rice production here,” he said. “However, the government should control rice imports and smuggling to prevent low-quality [tainted rice] from being mixed in with our exports.” Saran said the Ministry of Agriculture should work quickly to have more rice millers approved for export to China given the market’s size and potential growth. “The 26 [approved] rice millers will not be able to supply the annual quota set by our agreement with China,” he said. Hean Vanhan, undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Agriculture, said rice millers need to understand more about the demands and criteria of buyers in order to compete in international markets. “If they have suitable quality and standards they will be able to export their rice and expand their markets, including in big markets like China,” he said.