An Giang vegetable exports to Cambodia thrive

Hun Sen had never opened market for local produce of farmers, but allowing Yuon produces to invade Cambodia market, all kinds of cambodian produces were not be able sell in markets.

An Giang, Mar 31, 2009 (Asia Pulse Data Source via COMTEX) -- About 70 tonnes of vegetables are exported from An Giang province to Cambodia everyday, double the volume in previous years, according to local officials.

Nguyen Van Thao, head of An Phu districts Agriculture and Rural Development Department, said the growth follows an agreement between the two countries to exempt tariffs for 40 agricultural products.

The vegetables are grown to high hygiene and safety standards, Thao said.

The Mekong Delta province has become the first locality to export safe vegetable to the neighbouring country through the Khanh Binh border crossing.

An Phu district alone has around 1,000 ha for vegetables, yielding 20,000 tonnes per year. The productivity is yet to meet vegetable demand in the Cambodian market.

However, according to Thao, the export volume has recently dipped and prices of some kinds of vegetables dropped by 50 percent, due to the harvest of vegetables in Thailand .

Farming area in Thailand is not as large as in the Mekong Delta, and brisk exports is expected to resume after the harvest season in Thailand ends, Thao said.

Despite the current lull, merchants at the Khanh Binh wholesale market said they receive orders from Cambodia worth billions of VND a day.

An Phu district authorities said they are now expanding the area for cultivating vegetables by 1,300 ha to meet export demand.