Banana exports down nearly 21%, MAFF says
Banana exports down nearly 21%, MAFF says
Cambodia exported 143,481 tonnes of bananas in the first seven months of this year, a decline of 20.59 percent over the same period in 2023, a report from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF) showed.
The report said that banana exports generated an income of more than $96.7 million, stressing that China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam are the major importers of Cambodia’s bananas.
Khim Finan, Spokesperson of MAFF, said on Wednesday that climate change and competition from neighbouring countries had led to a drop in Cambodia’s banana exports to international markets.
“Because of these reasons, Cambodia’s banana exports to international markets dropped by over 20 percent, but we expect things to improve next year,” Finan added.
It may be noted that Cambodia exported 8.4 million tonnes of agricultural products last year, nearly two percent down compared to a year before, earning around $4.3 billion in revenue.
The main products Cambodia exported last year included rice, bananas, mangoes, cassava, cashew nuts, corn, palm oil, pepper and tobacco.
The agricultural sector plays an important role in supporting the socio-economic development of Cambodia as it is one of the four pillars supporting Cambodia’s economy. The sector contributed 24.4 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country in 2021.
China remains the largest market for Cambodian bananas, absorbing over 90 percent of exports each year. A similar downward trend in banana exports was observed in 2022, when, as a result of the pandemic and associated trade challenges, Cambodian banana shipments to China fell by 12 percent during the first 10 months of the year.
Despite this reduction in exports, Cambodia ranked as China’s third-largest banana supplier in 2022 after the Philippines and Vietnam. Cambodian bananas were granted China market access in 2019, with a special type of yellow banana that can withstand lengthy transit and storage for up to two months being supplied to the Chinese market.
Vietnam and Thailand are the two other major importers of Cambodia’s agricultural products.
It may be recalled that the government of the 7th Mandate launched a new strategic plan for agricultural development, aiming to upgrade agriculture from household to commercial farming and enhance farmers’ income through value-added products.
Under the priority policy, the government deployed 250 agricultural officials across the country to help farmers and the number will be raised to over 1,300 by 2025 in communes nationwide to add human resources for the agricultural sector’s development.
These officials will provide technical assistance to farmers, help them form agricultural cooperatives, link production chains and guide farmers to reduce production costs.
Meanwhile, the government is also making efforts to find new markets for its agricultural exports.
According to reports, the government is exploring the possibility of exporting agricultural and agro-industrial products such as pepper, bananas and cashew nuts into the US market.
