Cambodia exports $3 bn agricultural products in first nine months

Cambodia exported agricultural products worth a total of 5.9 million tonnes from  January to September this year, a year-on-year increase of 88 percent compared with the same period last year, showing positive growth of the sector despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

Figures from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries show the main agricultural products were milled rice, paddy rice, mangoes, bananas, cassava, cashew nuts, rubber, corn and pepper.

The agricultural products earned some $3,489 million, of which milled rice export was valued at $350 million, paddy rice at $429 million and non-agriculture products at $2,711 million, read a report on the data.

The January-September export of milled rice saw a decrease of 15.9 percent to 410,698 tonnes to 68 foreign markets, while paddy rice exports rose by 82 percent to 1,627 million tonnes.

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Veng Sakhon said the amount of milled rice export was largely because of the price of transport surging during the pandemic.

However, the export of non-rice products saw an increase during the period.

The total non-rice agricultural products increased by 107 percent.

Hun Lak, chairman of the Board of the Cambodia Rice Federation and president of Longmate Agriculture, a banana farm in Kampot province, said that despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the growth in agricultural production shows a positive result.

“The agricultural production chain in recent years has been growing steadily, especially fruit trees such as bananas, mangoes, cashews – also  lentils. Especially the export of fresh mangoes will increase this October,” Lak said.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said in August that economic growth is trending in the countries that depend on the agriculture sector.

In Cambodia, the agricultural sector has been growing, he said.

“As of September, the rice cultivation in the rainy season has been made surplus over targets. It is a good sign for the agricultural sector,” he said.

Cambodia exported more than 13 million tonnes of agricultural products last year, valued at $3,433 million.