China, EU remain potential markets for Cambodia’s agri products

China and the European markets remain the potential markets for Cambodia’s agricultural products, said key insiders, urging exporters and companies to focus on those two big markets for their processing of agricultural products.

Song Saran, president of the Cambodia Rice Federation, has encouraged those wishing to start agro-processing businesses for export to international markets shall try to grab the Chinese and European markets to sustain their exports.

China continues to be the top buyer of rice from Cambodia, with 50 percent of the market share and more than 30 percent of the EU market.

As the free trade agreement between Cambodia and China has pushed the bilateral trade between the two countries, especially factors of close relations between government and government, Saran said in a forum on business and investment opportunities in the agriculture sector held last Saturday.

Speaking of the EU market, Saran said the EU market is a long-term market, although the level of growth does not exceed 200,000 to 300,000 tons per year.

 “These two markets are very potential markets for Cambodia, which can promote exports quickly and without wasting time,” Saran said.

“The model for those in the agro-food processing sector is only two markets that we must try to grab China and Europe which are possible. Other markets are still complex,” he said.

Cambodia exported more than 2.4 million tons of agricultural products to China from 2019 to June 2022, earning gross revenue of $1.94 billion, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

The Kampot Pepper Promotion Association president Nguon Lay said that about 70 percent of pepper from his association is sold yearly to the EU market.

“We have many markets that exporting companies sell the GI pepper to. Among them, the EU shares the largest market,” Lay said.

The Kingdom had shipped 24 kinds of agricultural products to China, read the report, adding that they included fresh bananas, milled rice, dried cassava chips, cassava starch, dried mangoes, fresh mangoes, dried rubber, cashew nuts, cocoa powder, among others.

China remained the largest buyer of Cambodia’s rice, followed by the European Union, the CRF said, adding that China accounted for 48.3 percent of Cambodia’s total rice export volume during the January-July period.

Cambodia exported 169,766 tons of milled rice to China in the first seven months of 2022, earning $89 million in revenue.

The country shipped 122,842 tons of milled rice to the EU market during the period, bagging $86 million.

Source: Khmer Times