Kingdom, China up rice export quota
Kingdom, China up rice export quota
Cambodia and China have inked a new agreement to increase the quota for milled rice export to China to 500,000 tonnes, up 25 percent from the old quota agreement of 400,000 tons.
“The ministry has signed a memorandum of understanding on rice trade between Green Trade of the Ministry of Commerce and COFCO Corporation to the amount of 500,000 tonnes,” the ministry stated in its annual report published in mid-December.
As China is a major market for Cambodian rice, the expanded quota is expected to boost Cambodia’s rice export and provide a significant boost to the Kingdom’s agriculture sector.
The Ministry of Commerce, via the Green Trade Company, has been persistently working on negotiating with certain countries in the region to expand the Cambodian rice market, said Cham Nimul, Minister of Commerce.
“The commerce ministry has been working to promote and open up markets for rice export through the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement,” she said.
The first quota, agreed in August 2014, covered 100,000 tonnes. The figure has climbed steadily ever since.
Im Rachna, Under Secretary of State and Spokeswoman for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said China is one of the key markets for Cambodian agricultural products.
“The purchase of our agricultural products by China and other friendly countries have significantly contributed to the development of Cambodia’s agriculture and brought a lot of benefits to our people, particularly farmers,” Rachana said in early December.
Cambodia exported 575,562 tonnes of milled rice in the first 11 months of 2024, earning a total revenue of $413.9 million, according to the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF).
Fifty-five companies had shipped milled rice to 67 countries and regions during the January-November period this year, the news release said, adding that China is still one of the major buyers of the commodity.
The Kingdom exported 109,448 tonnes of milled rice to China during the above-mentioned period, making $70 million in revenue, the release said.
Cambodia’s fragrant rice Sen Kra Ob was crowned the best rice at the awards in China at China-ASEAN Taste Quality Appraisal Activity of High-Quality Indica Rice Varieties.
CRF has set a target of exporting a million tonne of milled rice by 2025, urging raising production and storage capacity and elevating rice quality standards for boosting Cambodia’s rice in the international markets.
