Rat has become the food of choice amongst poor CambodiansUK Daily Express
Tuesday April 14,2009
By Greg Newcombe
THE price of rat meat has quadrupled in Cambodia as the credit crunch continues to take a stranglehold on the country’s economy.
Thousands of poor families are being forced to tuck into rat after inflation put other meats out of their price range.
Officials said demand for the rodents has caused the price to soar to around 86 pence (5,000 riel) per kilogram, from just 1,200 riel last year.
Locals are enjoying a spicy field rat dish with garlic as beef would now set them back 20,000 riel a kilogram.
Officials said that rats had become easier for villagers to catch as they flee to higher ground from flooded areas of the lower Mekong Delta.
"Many children are happy making some money from selling the animals to the markets, but they keep some for their family," said Ly Marong an agriculture official from the Koh Thom district of Cambodia.
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