Cambodia mulls exporting live crocodiles to China
Cambodia mulls exporting live crocodiles to China
Cambodia plans to export live crocodiles to the People’s Republic of China, a move that could bring economic benefits to local crocodile farmers. Officials have collected samples from the crocodiles for disease analysis before exporting.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) Saturday announced that a working group from the Fisheries Administration and General Department of Animal Health and Animal Production, and the Siem Reap Provincial Department of Agriculture have collected live crocodile samples from a farming community in Siem Reap to test for specific viruses in accordance with the requirements set by China.
“Samples were conducted from January 7 to 10 to analyze the virus and facilitate the export of farmed crocodiles to the Chinese market,” read a MAFF announcement.
Further, according to the announcement, this is the first time Cambodia has received permission to export live crocodiles to China. However, Cambodia must first complete the necessary procedures in accordance with the standards and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
“When the first export is successful, Cambodia will gain access to a large-scale market for live crocodiles in China, providing significant economic benefits to crocodile farmers in Cambodia.”
The working group collected feces and blood of live crocodiles to analyze for disease.
Im Rachna, Under Secretary of State and Spokeswoman for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) yesterday confirmed to Khmer Times that a team has collected crocodile samples for disease analysis. If the crocodiles raised in Cambodia are found to be free of any diseases or viruses prohibited by Chinese customs authorities, the export can proceed as planned.
“We hope that exports will start in 2025 because Cambodian companies already have market demand in China, and the first export has been negotiated and agreed upon. However, we cannot yet determine the export volume, as we are waiting for the results of the virus tests on our crocodiles,” Rachna said.
A former crocodile farm owner in Siem Reap Province Ann Piradi told Khmer Times yesterday that she had stopped raising crocodiles more than a year ago because the market for crocodiles decreased and prices had dropped so significantly that crocodile farming had become unprofitable.
She added that the price of live crocodiles is very low. A live baby crocodile used to sell for $6 to $7, but now it has dropped to only $2 to $3.
“I’m not sure if exporting to China will increase the price of our crocodiles, because our crocodiles are already exported to other foreign countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, and there are also small exports to China,” said Piradi.
Today, she buys crocodiles from breeders for meat. A crocodile weighing 10 kilograms or less costs between $3 and $4 per kilogram of live crocodile.
Piradi said that this price is lower than before the Covid-19 era, but compared to the price during the Covid-19 pandemic, it is more expensive. During the pandemic, the price of 1 kilogram of crocodile was only $1 or a little over $1.
According to a report of the Fisheries Administration of the Ministry of Agriculture in 2023, the farms in Cambodia raised more than 330,000 crocodiles, a decrease of more than 58,714, or 15 percent.
There are 268 crocodile farms in Cambodia, located across Kampong Thom, Siem Reap, Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Kampong Chhnang, Kandal, and Prey Veng provinces.
