Cambodia’s rice exports grow double in 4 months: commerce data

Cambodia has seen 100 percent rise in processed rice exports in the first four months of this year versus the same period last year, showed the statistics from the ministry of commerce on Wednesday.

From January to April 2011, the country had exported 42,669 tons of milled rice to European markets and other countries, 100 percent increase from 21,322 tons at the same period last year, while the export value was 24.5 million U.S. dollars, 101 percent up from 12.2 million U.S. dollars.

Kong Putheara, director of the commerce ministry’s statistics department, attributed the increase to the tax exception for Cambodian rice by the European countries.

“Without paying import tax to Europe, Cambodian exporters can save up to 150 U.S. dollars a ton,” he said.
Cambodia has 3.9 million tons of rice paddies, in equivalent to 2.5 million tons of milled rice, left over for exports this year, according to the government report.

However, this country can export only the small amount of its milled rice to overseas markets due to the lack of sophisticated post-harvesting technology.

The government said it needs roughly 350 million U.S. dollars to invest in hi-tech post harvest technology and to purchase rice paddies from farmers for processing in order to achieve its self- opposed target of one-million-ton rice exports by 2015.

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