Cambodia to issue updated rice policy soon

via Khmer NZ

Published on: August 05, 2010

PHNOM PHEN (Commodity Online) : One of the world’s leading rice exporters, Cambodia said it will update rice policy soon.

Speaking to newsmen here country’s Prime Minister Hun Sen said updated policies were due August 17, and would be aimed at maximising rice exports for the benefit of the national economy.

“We still lack things such as machines to mill rice to acceptable standards, warehouses, and money to buy paddy to export,” he said.

With little domestic capital available to buy paddy, competitors such as Thailand and Vietnam buy Cambodian paddy and then process and re-export it.

“We need a lot of money to buy the unhusked rice, exporting paddy makes us lose rice husks, work that’s why we want to attract direct capital.” he said.

The drafting of the new policy would be just the latest in a raft of initiatives undertaken this year to boost the export of milled rice, a push that has already paid off with a massive surge in the milled grain’s export in the first half of this year.

Some 107,291 tonnes of milled rice worth $13.4 million were exported by Cambodia in May this year, a 2,356 percent jump on last year.

The prime minister said that ongoing discussions with regional leaders were aimed at facilitating rice exports. Talks have taken place with Malaysia and Singapore.

“Cambodia has to increase its ability to compete to enlarge the marketplace, while keeping the existing markets such as the US, Europe, and Canada,” “We have to find other marketplaces as well” he said.