Cambodia starts pepper exports to China
Cambodia starts pepper exports to China
In a significant move, Cambodia last month started exporting pepper to China, its biggest trading partner, marking the successful culmination of year-long preparations for the shipments.
According to the Government-owned TVK television channel, 30 tonnes of black pepper were exported to Qingdao, China on April 10 and 20, 2024.
“Pepper is Cambodia’s first spice product exported to the Chinese market,” a Facebook post by TVK said yesterday. Cambodia’s pepper is recognized as one of the best-quality pepper in the world.
Another Facebook post by Sela Pepper Co. Ltd confirmed that its first shipment was despatched to China on April 20. A second shipment is scheduled to leave for China tomorrow.
Since the Chinese Embassy announced the move to buy pepper from Cambodia on May 12, 2023, it took almost a year of hard work to make it happen. The export of pepper to China is expected to considerably help the sector, especially the farmers.
While confirming the exports, Cambodia Pepper and Spices Federation (CPSF), yesterday, called it “a promising start with room for growth.”
“The recent launch of direct Cambodian pepper exports to China presents a significant opportunity for the Cambodian economy. China’s massive consumer base offers a new and potentially lucrative market for Cambodian pepper exporters,” Vannal Van, Executive Director of CPSF told Khmer Times in a message.
Increased demand for Cambodian pepper could stimulate domestic production, benefitting rural communities and farmers through higher prices and potentially encouraging more pepper farming, he noted.
CPSF, however, concluded that a key constraint to immediate large-scale growth lies in the limited number of Cambodian farmers and processors currently registered with the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC). This registration is necessary to export directly to China.
Cambodia had earlier sent peppercorn samples to buyers in China, preparing the ground for the export. Markets in China, the US, the Middle East and North Africa had evinced interest in Cambodian pepper.
GACC in May 2023 approved an export proposal from Cambodia, technically clearing the way for local pepper to be exported to the Chinese market.
Meanwhile, statistics showed that Cambodia exported nearly $10 million worth of pepper to foreign markets in the first quarter of this year. This is expected to go up further this year with the opening of the Chinese market for Cambodian pepper.
CPSF, it is learnt, is also seeking opportunities in other markets including the Middle East, North Africa and the US market.
Pepper is grown on 6,935 hectares in Cambodia, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Currently, a metric tonne of black pepper is priced between $4,000 and $4,500 in Cambodia, almost $1,000 more than last year.
Cambodia exports both Geographical Indication (GI) pepper from Kampot and non-GI pepper, including mixed pepper, good-practice-agriculture pepper and organic pepper. GI pepper is mostly exported to the EU.
Kampot Pepper Promotion Association, which oversees GI pepper production, is also seeking to export pepper to China.
In 2023, Cambodia exported 6,153 tonnes of pepper to international markets, a decrease of 26.76 percent compared to the previous year. Low prices forced farmers not to sell the product in the market, leading to a decrease in exports as well.
